Aussie basketball player supports transgender athletes joining her sport

Female basketball player Chloe Bibby has admitted she has no reservations about playing against transgender opponents.

In fact, she has seemingly encouraged trans people to join her sport.

Her comments come following uproar over the possibility of a trans player potentially joining the a women's competition in Australia.

Earlier this week, it was announced that a transgender athlete had been approved to join the Kilsyth Cobras in the NBL1 South.

Former NBA champion Andrew Bogut took issue with the move, taking to Twitter to say: “Word is @NBL1 South Women will have a biological Male playing this upcoming season.

“Are you ok with sacrificing the sanctity of Female Sport in the name of ‘inclusion’? #GirlDads where are you?

“The hashtag is trendy until action is needed.”

Many of the replies to Bogut’s tweet echoed the same sentiment while others were furious over his stance.

One person who supplied a slightly different take was Bibby, who will be representing the Frankston Blues in the upcoming NBL1 season.

“As someone who plays in the NBL1, I don’t care what they identify as or their pronouns, she/her, they/them, he/him because regardless I’m still gone try beat their ass on court,” she tweeted.

“They want to play ball & I have nothing but the upmost respect for this person. Go kill it queen.”

Basketball Victoria are the governing body who oversaw the decision.

“Basketball has long prided itself as “Everyone’s Game” and this remains the case, particularly at the ‘Community’ level," Basketball Victoria's diversity and inclusion manager Sheena Atkins said.

"We recognise there is still much to learn in this space, the new guidelines confirm the inclusion and safety of the LGBITQA+ community into all levels of basketball being an imperative.”

In the meantime, Bogut's original post has continued to gain traction with people flocking to the comments section to have their say.

Ex-NBL player Matt Shanahan said it would open ‘a massive can of worms’ if the move was allowed.

As for author Saraid Taylor, she called Bogut's comments ‘wildly irresponsible’ and asked the player if the replies made him ‘sad’.

Bogut responded by saying: “It makes me sad you are ok with Women's sport and Women’s spaces being taken over by Men

“I don't condone any abuse to the Kilsyth player, nor do I blame the player.

“I blame the league/club admin and officials for allowing it.”

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/chloe_bibby/Alamy

Topics: Australia, Basketball, NBA

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry