After being last year's AFLW draft, transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey will now be allowed to play in the 2018 state and territory women's leagues. The decision came as the AFL worked to finalise its gender diversity policy for the national league.
"So after all that; guess who's allowed to play football after all," Mouncey said in a tweet.
Sharing a lengthy statement and uploading a 7-minute video to YouTube, Mouncey was quick to thank her supporters, but said it would be "highly inappropriate" for her to thank the AFL for allowing her to "do something open to every other Australian, which science and research has supported all along".
"I am, however, grateful they took the time to look at the situation properly, as it is complex, and took all the relevant advice on board," she said.
Mouncey continued to highlight the "understandable" lack of knowledge around the science involved in gender transitioning, saying the "circus" surrounding her ability to play had been about more than just football.
"It became about making sure that I as a trans person am not treated any differently to anyone else, and neither is any other trans person out there," she said.
"Yes, the AFL might prefer that I did not exist or chose to go and do something else, but that is not how it is, and we are not people to be ignored in the hope that will happen."
Since the decision was announced, Mouncey has been using her Twitter account to shine a light on the abusive messages she's been receiving.
"Don't listen to the haters, hanna (sic)," one message reads - "I for one cannot wait to see 100kg man plough through a pack of 45kg women."
"F***k you f**king tr**ny shouldn't be playing AFLW," read another.
However, there were also messages of support, with Collingwood FC AFLW player Meg Hutchins taking to Twitter to applaud Mouncey's strength.
"I congratulate and applaud Hannah Mouncey for the courage and perseverance she has shown throughout this whole (very) public debate," she wrote on Twitter.
The AFL said on Tuesday that the decision to not let Mouncey enter the draft only applied to last year.
"Eligibility decisions are generally made by state and local leagues in accordance with the rules and policies of the relevant football body," the AFL said in a statement.
"However, the AFL strongly encourages all Australian football competitions to adopt the AFL's recommendation to facilitate the inclusion of trans players at the community level until the AFL's gender diversity policy is finalised."
