JK Rowling, the renowned author of Harry Potter series, has criticized Australian transgender handball player over her fear of not being able to compete in LA 2028.
The criticism comes after Mouncey expressed her concerns about her inability to compete for a place in the team due to a ban on biological males participating in women’s sports.
On the Sacked podcast, Mouncey shared her aspirations to participate in the women’s team at Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2034 Olympic Games.
Mouncey also dismissed the notion that transgender athletes have an unfair advantage over biological women.
To which, Rowling reacted on social media, saying: “There’s this idea that trans athletes have an unfair advantage, but the results don’t show that,” she stated. “I’ve always believed in fairness and restrictions where needed, but blanket bans are not the answer.”
The International Handball Federation’s policy on transgender athletes was implemented in 2022.
The policy highlighted that transgender athletes seeking to compete against female competitors “must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Expert Panel (on the balance of probabilities), in accordance with clause 4, that the concentration of testosterone in her serum has been less than 5 nmol/L1 continuously for a period of at least 12 months; and she must keep her serum testosterone concentration below 5 nmol/L for so long as she continues to compete in the female category of competition.
Furthermore, “a test result from at least 12 months but not earlier than 14 months prior to the athlete’s first competition, which indicates that the transgender female athlete’s total testosterone level in serum was below 5 nmol/L and “an affidavit from a medical professional stating that the transgender female athlete’s total testosterone level in serum has been below 5 nmol/L for at least 12 months prior to the athlete’s first competition.”