The Pink Times
Aa
  • Home
  • World News
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • China
    • Europe
    • India
    • Middle East
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
  • Rights
    • Activism
    • Law
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Media
    • Health
  • Health
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Entertainment
    • Drag
    • Fashion
    • History
    • Love
    • People
    • Photography
    • Religion
  • Drag
  • Life
  • Money
  • Tech
  • Sports
  • People
Reading: Transitioned Olympic champion Green says inclusion must be priority
Share
Aa
The Pink Times
Search
  • Home
  • World News
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • China
    • Europe
    • India
    • Middle East
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
  • Rights
    • Activism
    • Law
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Media
    • Health
  • Health
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Entertainment
    • Drag
    • Fashion
    • History
    • Love
    • People
    • Photography
    • Religion
  • Drag
  • Life
  • Money
  • Tech
  • Sports
  • People
Follow US
The Pink Times > World News > Asia Pacific > Transitioned Olympic champion Green says inclusion must be priority
Asia PacificSports

Transitioned Olympic champion Green says inclusion must be priority

The Pink Times
The Pink Times August 17, 2022
Updated 2022/08/17 at 3:27 PM
Share
2016 Rio Olympics - Rugby - Women's Gold Medal Match Australia v New Zealand - Deodoro Stadium - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 08/08/2016. Ellia Green (AUS) of Australia runs to score a try. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/Files

SYDNEY (Reuters) – When Ellia Green’s mother once said that the Olympic champion rugby player would make an incredible mum one day, the compliment triggered a moment of confusion.

“I definitely wanted kids,” Green recalled. “But I just couldn’t see myself as a mummy, and I didn’t know why. Then I’m like, ‘I’m a daddy and have always have been’.”

- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

Fast forward a few years and Green, a lightning quick winger who won gold in the women’s Sevens at the 2016 Rio Olympics, is living that very role having transitioned to male since retiring from rugby last year.

The cascade of braids that marked Green out on the rugby pitch have gone, he had gender affirming surgery last November and is now a proud dad of a six-month-old baby he had with his partner.

“After finishing up my rugby career, that was something I was really excited about because I had been planning it for a while,” the Australian told Reuters in an interview.

“I knew I couldn’t do hormone therapy or surgery during my career … it’s all happened so quickly.”

On Tuesday, the 29-year-old will make opening remarks by video at a summit on “Transphobia and Homophobia in Sport” organised around the staging of the Bingham Cup – sometimes known as rugby’s gay World Cup – in Ottawa.

Gender identity in rugby has been a controversial issue since global governing body World Rugby last year banned transgender women from taking part in the women’s game over safety concerns.

While not overly keen to centre his own transition in the debate, Green is certain that when it comes to balancing the various issues, inclusion needs to come out at the top.

“People deserve a choice to do what they want and achieve their dreams,” he added.

“No one likes to be excluded because of how they identify, it’s like being bullied and judged … and that’s when you see the rates of suicide increase and mental health illness and depression.

“I wish people would just see a human being wanting to be involved, whether it be in the workplace or the sporting environment.”

Green also feels that not enough weight is placed on the varying sizes and strengths of athletes inside women’s sport already, nor on the impact the process of transition has in mitigating the advantages accrued in male puberty.

“I just think there’s a lot of science around it but we could have more research done, or more conversation about it, not just say all trans people are banned,” he said.

INSTANT IMPACT

Green was born in Fiji and moved to Australia as a child with his adoptive parents, quickly showing an aptitude for sport and competing at the world junior athletics championships before switching to rugby at the age of 18.

He made an instant impact in Sevens and was one of the biggest names in the women’s game by the time he helped Australia bag the inaugural Olympic title in Rio.

Green suffered a hammer blow in 2018 when his mother, Yolanta, died after a long fight against cancer and that was compounded last year when he was left out of the Australia squad for the Tokyo Olympics.

“It was pure disappointment, rugby was something I’d shared a lot with my mum, she’d get so excited watching me play,” he recalled.

“Not being picked, I thought I’d disappointed her, I disappointed myself, I disappointed my partner. I just kind of put myself in a hole. I just shut down, I couldn’t go out of the house for a while, I couldn’t open the windows, I had to be in complete darkness.”

His transition and the birth of his daughter in February had helped his mental health, he said, although there were still “ups and downs”.

Now combining studies with a job at Sydney’s Port Botany, Green is hoping that telling his story might help other athletes struggling with their identity.

“It’s an opportunity to say, ‘this is possible’, and there are athletes out there that are going through this, and continuing their lives,” he said.

TAGGED: Australia, Olympics, Rugby, transgender

Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts and more!
Please wait...

Thank you for sign up!

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.
The Pink Times August 17, 2022
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Tumblr Reddit VKontakte Telegram Email
Share
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1433186274085588996/Xt2ihQJl_normal.jpg
@thepinktimes
0 Following
77 Followers
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1433186274085588996/Xt2ihQJl_normal.jpg Mar 19, 2023
Same-sex couples seeking to adopt in Victoria are hitting a wall. The state has had fewer than five same-sex adopti… https://t.co/Lg98qpeI6y
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1433186274085588996/Xt2ihQJl_normal.jpg Mar 19, 2023
See the Vibrant LGBTQ+ Quilt Created by a Norfolk Group and Join the Conversation about Queer History!… https://t.co/Ft1wjPNj6f
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1433186274085588996/Xt2ihQJl_normal.jpg Mar 19, 2023
Italian LGBTQ families face discrimination as the government limits parental rights. Join the fight for equality!… https://t.co/4AA0eaCVNa
Fewer Than Five Same-Sex Adoptions Since Law Change in Victoria
Asia Pacific Health
Stitching the Story of LGBTQ+ History: A Vibrant Quilt Created by a Norfolk Group Sparks Conversations
Art United Kingdom
Conservative council member suspended for controversial comments on Pride flags in Essex
Politics United Kingdom
Italy’s Bureaucratic Crackdown on LGBTQ Families Sparks Outrage
Community Europe Politics
San Jose Sharks goalie refuses to wear Pride jersey: his reason will shock you
Sports United States
Ad image
Join us!

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Please wait...

Thank you for sign up!

Most Viewed Posts

  • Hot Photos from Paul’s Book “Larrikin Prince” Unleashed
  • Hot and Sexy: A Visual Exploration of Masculine Bravado and Regal Splendor
  • A Shift in Perspective: The Art of Male Nude Photography
  • A Journey Through Male Body Diversity with InkedKenny and BEEFYBOY
  • The Ginger Sensation of RuPaul’s Drag Race: A Tribute to Bryce Eilenberg

Useful links

About us
Advertise
Contact
Newsletter

The Pink Times
Follow US

All rights reserved

Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss the latest news, podcasts and more!

Please wait...

Thank you for sign up!

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?