"Basically what they're saying is, 'We don't want you'": Former transgender player Caroline Layt vehemently denounces the International Rugby League Federation's decision to ban transgender people from playing at international matches, which she sees as a "punishment".
The 56-year-old former athlete, now a journalist and activist, fears that such a decision could lead to the banishment of transgender athletes.
"We are being punished for our transition," she said in an interview with AFP.
Layt played rugby as a man and then as a woman following her transition, a three-year process involving hormones and finally surgery performed in 1998, when she was over 30.
She then played at a high level in women's teams, including representing New South Wales, only revealing her transgender status in 2005. A decision that changed perceptions towards her and that some have made her pay a lot.
" Next to nothing "
“I suddenly became a nobody,” she explained.
Discrimination and hostility that even went as far as physical violence from teammates in 2005, then the following year on the pitch by opponents.
“Some have since apologized to me, (…) others have not changed their minds and attitudes about me and probably never will.
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Layt rejected the argument that transgender people necessarily have a physiological advantage over other sportswomen.
"We are not all the same height, the same weight, the same size," she argued, asking sports authorities to decide on a case-by-case basis.
“We are human beings, we have feelings, and we feel like we're singled out,” Layt said.
What if young transgender people came to ask him for advice on playing rugby?
“I would tell them to hide.
Or go and play in a sport that is inclusive,” she acknowledged.
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