Girl with suspected autism faces 12-match ban for asking transgender opponent: ‘Are you a man?’

[rooshoe]

m.independent.ie/sport/soccer/teenage-girl-17-with-suspected-autism-faces-12-match-ban-for-asking-transgender-opponent-are-you-a-man/a1896883124.html

It's in the Telegraph too but that's behind a paywall - has anyone covered this on here already?

I have girls (the female kind) who play this and other 'boy' sports. I'm so worried. To even question the situation could mean severe punishment. What is wrong with this world?!

Thanks for this.
Re the Telegraph - if you load it and immediately go to airplane mode you skip the paywall. Looking now...

Archive of Telegraph article.

https://archive.ph/wNfRR

The comments in the Telegraph are overwhelmingly in support of the girt.

Much inclusion.

I found this bit really sad

'She added: “The moment the player clarified they were transgender (which I previously hadn’t considered), I respected their answer fully, dropped the situation and immediately shifted my focus back to the game before seeking guidance from the referee. At no point was my question meant to be hurtful or malicious as I only intended to seek clarity in an unfamiliar situation. Knowing now that the player was transgender, I understand that there were better ways to approach this question.”

Magic word 'transgender ' and the girl feels obliged to capitulate despite her valid concerns.

Beat me to it. So sad.

Yay let's destroy the football opportunities for a 12 year old girl with Additional Needs because that's better for the hurty feelings of one adult male who should know better than to go up against prepubescent girls (having gone through male puberty) in a physical sport. What kind of person would want to participate in such a sport setup as the adult dominant person? It's clearly not going to meet any kind of definition for fair play to be so unevenly matched so this person nust just get a kick out of dominating people who are smaller and more vulnerable.

"It is also a common trait that people with autism can struggle to recognise gender."

What does that mean? That autistic people are more likely to call a male a male?

And where are the adults? Where is the safeguarding? Kid asks valid and reasonable question and gets potential ban??!

Agreed. More like can recognise a person's sex and will say so.

Inclusive! Unless you’re autistic. Or a woman.

or anyone else at all who isn't completely fucking bonkers.

Yup. An adult male playing against a 12yo girl?? Wtf?

That autistic people know damn well what sex someone is, and don't like being lied to?

Indeed. And then get effectively told to stfu and ignore their own (completely correct) instincts. How the hell is this inclusive?

Oh and also, it would be the same if a non autistic kid asked the same question! Why are we encouraging kids to lie and not believe their own eyes?

Yep. Bonkers.

It’s a bullying attitude towards the girl- just for speaking up and being honest.
Awful- it must be making her feel terrible. So stressful for her just because some male born person is offended
Stop the world; it’s time to get off

She's 17, not 12.

Annoying that the article doesn't dare to state whether the opposing player is male or female, but leans on a teenager's quotes to indicate it. Presumably if they'd been female there would have been 1000 tweets about how 'the GCs have done it again'. As it is...

It’s so bad we’re doing this, autistic or not

He was bigger, faster, stronger and had a fucking beard. When is this nonsense going to be stopped? Biological men shouldn't be playing against women and girls at any level.

Yes. It's so 'emperors new clothes ' using the shield of an autistic kid to speak the truth when the adults in the room could and should but are too cowardly to do so.

So inclusive to punish a 17 year old girl with likely ASD. A girl who correctly sexed and raised concerns about a player she correctly perceived to be a very physical threat to hers and other girls safety. Surely the trans player should have been inclusive of the girls disability, where is the match ban for that player?

I hope the mother and daughter find their way here so they might find out how many women are behind them.

To be fair though the article is designed to illicit this response. There’s no effort to see the story from any other perspective.

I play football (informally) against girls (I’m a man) and I’m not a threat to their safety because I’m not interested in hurting anyone. I’m interested in us enjoying ourselves.

it’s a 17year old playing against an adult (perhaps an 18year old, the journalist isn’t interested in reporting that) which happens all the time.

Additionally competitive girls football can be vicious without the inclusion of males at least it can be around where I live.

the ‘scandal’ here is about the over reaction to an innocent and valid question and the article does very little to get to the bottom of who’s at fault here.

Sorry to have an alternative opinion (I do think their are problems with trans inclusion in some sorting contexts) but I think this article as about stoking prejudice.