Famous Harry Potter author JK Rowling shared her classic sports story on Tuesday.
The BBC has awarded Zambia’s Barbra Banda its annual Female Footballer of the Year award. Banda has withdrawn from the Zambia squad for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in 2022 because she did not meet the gender eligibility requirements, the BBC previously reported.
Banda was cleared to participate in the Paris Olympics and played this season with the Orlando Pride, ranking second in scoring in the U.S. National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
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JK Rowling talks about transgender people invading women’s spaces. (Getty Images)
Banda was shortlisted by a panel announced by the BBC of “football experts” including coaches, players and non-BBC journalists, and received the most votes from BBC readers.
Rowling said in a post about X.
“Perhaps the BBC decided this was more time efficient than going door to door and spitting directly in women’s faces,” Rowling wrote.
Rowling has been one of the most vocal opponents of transgender rights and inclusion, especially in her home country of the United Kingdom.
Transgender women’s participation in sports is being debated internationally and will be one of the most contentious issues in the 2024 US presidential election.
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Some on the left are calling for an end to transgender inclusion efforts. (Mark Kerrison/Photo via Getty Images)
In a June survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, respondents said whether transgender athletes of both genders should be allowed to participate in sports leagues that correspond to their desired gender identity rather than their biological sex. asked.
65% said it should never or rarely be allowed. When asked specifically about adult transgender female athletes competing on women’s sports teams, 69% disagreed.
The United Nations says about 900 biological women did not reach the podium, losing out to trans athletes.
The findings were compiled by UN Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Reem Al-Salem, under the title ‘Violence against women and girls in sport’.
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A woman celebrates after scoring her team’s second goal with a penalty shot during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand Group C match between Costa Rica and Zambia at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, New Zealand on July 31, 2023. Barbra Banda from Zambia. (Hannah Peters/FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
According to the report, as of March 30, more than 600 athletes failed to win medals in more than 400 events in 29 events, for a total of more than 890 medals.
“The replacement of women’s sports categories with mixed-gender categories has resulted in an increasing number of female athletes losing out on opportunities, including medals, when competing against men,” the report said.
The Banda incident was one of several controversial incidents involving athletes who failed gender reassignment tests at the Paris Olympics. Algerian boxers Imane Kherif and Taiwan’s Lin Yuting won gold medals in their respective competitions and were allowed to compete despite failing gender eligibility tests in previous international competitions.
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