Transgender AFL player vents her fury after being kicked out of Australia’s women’s handball team because other players ‘didn’t want to get changed and shower with her’
- Hannah Mouncey played men’s handball but didn’t qualify for the women’s team
- The 30-year-old claimed an official said she wasn’t picked because she isn’t liked
- Handball Australia denied the allegations to Daily Mail Australia
- The transgender athlete was rejected from the women’s AFL team in 2018
Transgender athlete Hannah Mouncey, 30, was previously rejected from women’s AFL because of her testosterone levels
Transgender athlete Hannah Mouncey has slammed the Australian women’s handball team for omitting her from the world championships because other players didn’t want to get changed with her.
The 30-year-old was thrust into the spotlight in 2018 after she was rejected from the women’s AFL team because tests showed she had too much testosterone to qualify for the female leagues.
Mouncey, who previously represented the nation in men’s handball, has since helped the Australian women’s handball team qualify for the world championship.
The international competition was held in Japan in December last year, but Mouncey wasn’t selected to compete.
In an explosive post for the Star Observer earlier this month, Mouncey vented her fury and claimed she was excluded because some players felt uncomfortable with her using the women’s bathrooms.
Mouncey played women’s AFL until 2018. She is pictured passing the ball during a match in Melbourne on July, 2, 2018
Mouncey (right) poses with Abbey Cholmes (centre) and Grant Hansen (left) on the set of The Marngrook Footy Show last year
‘I was left out of the team for the World Championships because there was a group of players within the team, supported by the team manager, who did not want me showering or using the change rooms before or after the game,’ she wrote.
‘This was in turn the sole reason given to me by our coach for my non selection.’
Mouncey went on to claim a Handball Australia employee told her she wasn’t picked for the squad because ‘you’re not liked’.
‘And the reason I’m not liked is because I told our manager, and by extension those players, exactly where he and they could go in trying to tell me where I could change and shower.’
Mouncey (left) claimed a Handball Australia employee told her she wasn’t picked for the squad because ‘you’re not liked’
While the ex-player admitted she would be playing handball for Australia if she accepted her team manager’s ‘ludicrous’ requests to shower and change elsewhere, Mouncey has no regrets.
B she said she would have let down other members of the trans community who supported her when she didn’t make the AFL team if she gave in to the demands.
A spokeswoman for Handball Australia told Daily Mail Australia the coach did not mention the showers when Mouncey was told she hadn’t been selected for the team.
‘The coach assures me she conveyed the reasons for not being selected in line with the committee discussion. Like any player Hannah had the right to appeal but did not. We are currently investigating the showering claims with Hannah,’ she said.