As he prepared to take part in a historic all-trans rugby match, Atticus Martin felt like he was going to cry.
Martin was one of the 39 trans and non-binary players who took part in an all-trans match at the North American Rugby Cup, the first of its kind in the US, on 27 May in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The players, who came from over a dozen teams worldwide, took to the pitch wearing bright pink and blue jerseys in the colours of the trans flag, showing their joy and pride at being part of rugby’s trans community.
Hosted by the International Gay Rugby (IGR) association, the match was designed to promote trans inclusion in sports and battle against the
surge in anti-trans legislation in the US.
Essentially, it was a “big F U to everybody who thinks that we shouldn’t exist,” Martin tells PinkNews.
“Out of all the sports I play – because I even play softball – rugby players have been the most supportive and like, ‘This is all f**ked up what they’re going to you guys and saying that you can’t play’,” Martin says.
Trans inclusion in sports has become a lightning rod issue worldwide. The
International Swimming Federation (FINA) and rugby football unions in
England,
Ireland and
Wales have restricted or outright banned trans people from participating, despite experts
denouncing such restrictions.
www.thepinknews.com
