Australian Olympic champion Ellia Green has opened up about his ‘liberating’ transition to becoming a male.
Green was part of the Australian Rugby Sevens Women’s team that won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
He was part of the seven’s side for eight years and even had a brief stint in the NRLW for the New Zealand Warriors.
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He publicly came out as a transgender man in an address at the biennial Bingham Cup of the gay and inclusive rugby community.
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Green spoke at the cup’s International Summit on ending transphobia and homophobia in sport on Tuesday (August 16).
The Olympic gold medalist says he had made a promise to himself that once he had reached the conclusion of his rugby career he would make the transition and live in the body he knew he was meant to be in.
Green was left devastated after not getting selected for the Tokyo Olympics, however, saw it as his opportunity to begin living his life.
He told the summit: “I really took it as a reflection on my whole self as a person, so I was unable to leave the house.
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“But the one thing that kept me positive was the fact that I had planned my surgery, my top surgery, and it was something that I had been literally counting down the days with my beautiful partner.
“I just knew I was going be the most liberating feeling when I had that surgery and started to take the steps towards being in the body that I know I am meant to be in.
“So that was definitely something that was a bright spark in my mind during this dark time.”
Green explained the ‘really stressful’ transition period and how people would treat him as an ‘alien’ for not fitting into traditional gender roles.
He added: “The thing is, even without changing genders, changing appearance, identity, people are always going to have something to say, whether that be positive or negative.
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“I learnt that in 10 years of being a professional rugby player. So why not just live the rest of your life exactly as you want to be because life is just too short to live it as something else, and you are beautiful.”
The 29-year-old also slammed the International Rugby League (IRL) and other sporting federation’s decisions to exclude transgender people from sport.
He continued: “Imagine not being able to do what you love because of how you identify. Banning transgender people from sport I think is disgraceful and I think it’s hurtful.
“The rates of suicide and mental health (issues) will get even worse.”
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The IRL announced last month that they would be banning transgender females from playing in sanctioned events until further research is had.
Topics: NRL, Olympics, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Australia
Jayden Collins