By Sarah Burt
For the first time in club history, Gold Coast will wear a dedicated pride guernsey in the AFLW’s Pride round, although a little later than expected, with their game postponed again because of COVID-19 protocols.
While the significance of the round holds a special place in many hearts, there is one that beats stronger this year.
In a happy place: The Gold Coast Suns’ Tori Groves-Little ahead of 2022 AFLW pride round.
Gold Coast player Tori Groves-Little announced themselves as the first non-binary athlete in the AFLW competition in October 2021, the day after their 21st birthday. While they have identified as bisexual since they were 15, this Pride round will be the first where they feel they have reached complete acceptance of themselves and the outside world.
“Last year I was still a part of the Pride round because I was openly identifying as someone who wasn’t straight, but now to come out as non-binary, it’s a whole new experience,” Groves-Little said.
“Everything about where I am just feels so magical because it’s been a long time coming, and I finally feel so comfortable in who I am - the way to describe being non-binary, for me, is euphoric. I’m in my own world and everyone else is just a part of it.”
The small forward admits that reaching this point has not been simple.
“I think ‘a long time coming’ is probably the best way to describe the whole journey,” they said.
“It’s been very, very long and very confusing for myself and those close to me.”
Groves-Little said last year’s Instagram announcement was essentially the third time they’ve had to “come out”.
“I first came out as bisexual when I was really young, and then I’ve just been learning and evolving ever since.”
Groves-Little’s two closest friends, one of whom also identifies as non-binary, played a big part in helping them reach a stage where they felt they could articulate who they are.
“There’s been a lot of questions regarding the ‘W’ in AFLW, there’s been a few comments saying ‘why is it not the AFLNB?’ and stuff like that but, look, this is my fourth year in the league and I identified as a female for the first three.”
Gold Coast Suns player Tori Groves-Little
“It’s been hard because it shouldn’t be something that you have to do - coming out shouldn’t have to be a thing, but unfortunately, it is,” they said.
Groves-Little is one of six children, and describes their parents and siblings as their “biggest supporters”, but admits that reaching this point was “nerve-racking”.
“I told my parents and that was a tough conversation to have.”
Following this, there was a list of people they felt they had to tell, something Groves-Little describes as “ticking a box”.
“I told my parents, then I was ready to tell my friends, and then I was ready to tell the team, and then I was ready to go public about it, and it just kept getting easier because I felt more comfortable with it,” they said.
Carlton star Darcy Vescio sent Groves-Little a message before their recent announcement that they too identify as non-binary.
The Sun could assure the Blue it had been a positive process.
With two players publicly in the same situation, it’s encouraging a wider conversation to evolve within the league.
“It’s being educated throughout the whole competition,” Groves-Little said. “I’m forever being asked if I’m comfortable and if there’s anything around the club they can do - all of the staff have been notified.”
One of the challenges facing the AFL is the inherently binary nature of the two competitions, the men’s and the women’s. But Groves-Little says it’s clear to them where they personally fit into this structure.
“There’s been a lot of questions regarding the ‘W’ in AFLW, there’s been a few comments saying ‘why is it not the AFLNB?’ and stuff like that but, look, this is my fourth year in the league and I identified as a female for the first three.”
Groves-Littlesaid nothing had changed except their pronouns.
“We have been part of such an amazing part of history, me for four years now, and Darcy since its inaugural season, so I don’t really think about how the competition should be adapting to myself and others,” they said.
“I’m proud to be part of the AFLW and that’s what it is, I fought hard as a female to be where I am today, and I’m proud of that – I just like to be individually referenced as gender-neutral.
“I definitely think there’s parts where I do lean towards one gender or the other, and then there’s also parts that are very neutral, but I think being a part of the AFLW I still have a connection to my femme side, and I’m empowered as a woman to be part of all this journey.”
The Suns will, when their game is rescheduled, run out in a guernsey designed by Suns AFLW players Sarah Perkins, Britt Perry, Jade Pregelj, and Hannah Dunn.
As part of the dedicated round, field and boundary umpires will also wear rainbow-coloured sweatbands while goal umpires will exchange their traditional white flags for rainbow ones, and for Groves-Little this will mean the world.
“I’m at peak happiness,” they said.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.