Transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey speaks out

HANNAH Mouncey, the transgender footballer who was controversially denied a spot in the women’s AFL, has spoken out in a tell-all interview.

HANNAH Mouncey, the Aussie rules footballer denied a spot in the AFLW, has spoken out in a tell-all interview with Peter Stefanovic a fortnight after being swept up in a media storm.

Mouncey became a household name among AFL fans after her bid to play in the women’s league was knocked back.

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The AFL deemed Mouncey — who previously represented Australia in men’s handball — to have an unfair advantage over the rest of the competition.

Officials said the AFL’s decision was based on the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act, which decrees athletes can be discriminated against based on their gender “if strength, stamina or physique is relevant”.

The Herald Sun revealed in September Mouncey would nominate for the draft after already trying out for a rookie spot with Melbourne.

Hannah Mouncey was denied a spot in the AFLW.

Hannah Mouncey, born Cullen, as a teenager aged 17.

“Of course I’m going to have a size advantage over some of the girls,” the 28-year-old said on Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes.

“But I feel the game prides itself on being able to be played by anyone — whether it be little rovers, or your ruckman, or your full forward and forward pocket ... I obviously don’t agree with what the AFL has done. There’s a dozen girls of my height. I was the tallest within a couple of centimetres.”

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Mouncey said she didn’t realise her wish to transition until she was in her 20s.

“I didn’t realise until I was a lot older,” she said. “I was seeing a psychologist for different things and that’s how it sort of came out ... it’s not a decision, it’s just not.”

Chris Rourke, Mouncey’s coach at Canberra’s Ainslie Football Club, admitted he had reservations about the towering six-foot-two star when she joined the club.

“Oh, the size obviously,” he said after being asked what made him nervous. “But once you saw her play — there was no hesitation.”

Rourke said he’d received no complaints from opposition players regarding Mouncey’s size advantage. He then admitted her skill level on the paddock was “average”.

Hannah Mouncey opened up on 60 Minutes.

“She has solid hands, which is good. She could develop into a really good power forward but she’s got a lot of work in front of her,” he said.

Mouncey said she’d never opt for surgery to switch genders, assuring she was transitioned with the help of a daily supplement plan.

“I take four pills a day,” she said. “Oestrogen and an anti-androgen. That’s pretty much it.

“I am transitioned. Some people will get cosmetic surgery, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars reshape their jaw or their voice box and have surgery and all sorts of stuff. I’m definitely not going down that path.”

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The decision on Mouncey sparked a wave of controversy which saw fans protest outside AFL House demanding the decision be changed.

Her testosterone levels are under the limit required to compete in the Olympics, giving advocates like Melbourne journalist Chip Le Grand hope it will be the last time a transgender star is shown the door by the AFL.

“Hannah Mouncey is the first, but she isn’t going to be the last transgender woman to want to play football, so the AFL knows it has work to do,” he told Stefanovic.

Protesters demonstrate outside AFL House at Docklands after the recent AFLW decision to not allow transgender players in the draft.

Despite the storm following her knock-back from the AFLW, Mouncey was given the thumbs-up to play women’s football in Canberra in 2018.

Transgender athlete Kirsti Miller, who represented Australia in modern pentathlon as a man before making a daring move to female football, recently came out in favour of the AFL’s decision to deny Mouncey a spot in the women’s league, claiming it helped the integrity of the growing sport.

“The AFL has made what I believe is the best judgment call in delaying Hannah’s attempt at joining the AFLW,’’ Miller said via The Australian.