A recreational soccer team in Toronto is raising questions about inclusivity and support for LGBTQ+ athletes after the league they play in temporarily excluded non-binary players from women's teams. Evergreen FC, a team composed of female, LGBTQ+ and gender diverse members, has been playing in the women's division of Stadium Sport Leagues since 2022. However, the league recently informed the team that non-binary players would only be permitted to play on co-ed teams, citing complaints from some players who said they didn't feel safe playing against Evergreen FC. The team's co-captain, Riley Yesno, argues that this policy contradicts a gender inclusion policy she helped write for the league last year.
TORONTO — A recreational soccer team in Toronto says controversy surrounding its league's gender policy , which temporarily excluded non-binary players from women's teams, has sparked a bigger conversation about accessibility and support for LGBTQ+ athletes.
Yesno said in an interview that her team, which she describes as"fully queer," hadn't received any yellow cards or disciplinary action that would have warranted such a complaint. She also said the league's email to the team goes against a policy she helped write in order to foster inclusion. Yesno said the requirement was added at some point without her knowledge, while the league said in internal emails that it had not been enforcing its gender policy"to its fullest" and would begin doing so after safety concerns were raised by other teams.
Internal emails show the league said team representatives had met to discuss its policies, and the change was a result of a"collective decision." It pointed to organizations such as Canada Soccer, the International Olympic Committee and the NCAA, all of which have adopted gender inclusion policies.Yesno said high-profile transgender athletes have reached out to offer support, including Quinn from Canada's national women’s soccer team, and Nikki Hiltz, a Team USA track and field Olympian. Quinn and Hiltz could not be reached for comment.
In the U.S., the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics sparked controversy earlier this year after implementing a new policy in which all athletes can participate in NAIA-sponsored men's sports at 241 colleges across the country — but women's sports only allow athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth is female and who have not started hormone therapy.
LGBTQ+ Athletes Gender Policy Inclusivity Recreational Sports Toronto
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