Trans footballer Hannah Mouncey took to Twitter late last night to explain her reasons for withdrawing from the 2019 AFLW draft, writing that the AFL has treated her “like shit, with every effort made to wear [her] down to a point where [she] couldn’t continue“.
In her post, the VFL Women’s Darebin Falcons player describes the AFL as “an organisation with no leadership, who cares only for its corporate image above all else“, whose behaviour behind-the-scenes will come out.
Ultimately, Mouncey says that “the toll of doing this on [her] own has ended up being far too great“, adding that it has also impacted on people she cares about, which she will not allow to continue: “There are a number of things I can’t risk by continuing this fight, which are far more important than football.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnFYilzgGVK/?hl=en&taken-by=hannahmouncey
The statement from Mouncey is accompanied by blood tests dating back to the end of 2015 that prove that she has complied with the requirements of the league regarding testosterone levels: that for at least two years, those levels have been below the maximum prescribed by the league for AFLW players, a total testosterone level in serum of below 5 nmol/L.
Mouncey writes that she chose to release these test results to the public, because otherwise she “would have risked constant speculation about that, and possibly being labelled a cheat for being above, which is not something I can live with“.
She finishes her statement writing that she knows she would’ve been fucking great in the league:
I’m comfortable in the fact that given the chance, I would have done well at the next level. I finished second in the goal kicking for the VFL and was one of the team’s best players in half the games I played. I know I can do it, but it’s not worth what it’s currently costing.
Please follow the next few posts, I won’t be commenting further on it at this stage pic.twitter.com/rUY2iSeC8k
— Hannah Mouncey 🤾♀️ (@HannahMouncey) September 9, 2018
The ABC requested comment from the AFL, but a spokesman said that they wouldn’t comment, as the players’ applications for the draft are not due until the end of this week.
In 2017, Mouncey was barred from applying for the 2018 AFLW draft, but was cleared to play in the Victorian state league earlier this year.
