The governing body of cricket has adopted new restrictions that prevent people who identify as transgender women from competing in the women’s league.
The International Cricket Council will not allow biologically male competitors to compete against women even if they identify as transgender. The council said the rule will ensure the safety of female players.
“The new policy is based on the following principles (in order of priority), protection of the integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness and inclusion, and this means any Male to Female participants who have been through any form of male puberty will not be eligible to participate in the international women’s game regardless of any surgery or gender reassignment treatment they may have undertaken,” stated the ICC, per Breitbart.
“The review, which was led by the ICC Medical Advisory Committee chaired by [Dr.] Peter Harcourt, relates solely to gender eligibility for international women’s cricket, whilst gender eligibility at [the] domestic level is a matter for each individual Member Board, which may be impacted by local legislation,” continued the organization.
The policy is already scheduled to be reviewed in the next two years. Individual member boards will retain the ability to decide if they will allow transgender-identifying people to compete with women at the domestic level.
“The changes to the gender eligibility regulations resulted from an extensive consultation process and are founded in science, aligning with the core principles developed during the review,” said Geoff Allardice, the chief executive of the ICC, in a statement on Nov. 21. “Inclusivity is incredibly important to us as a sport, but our priority was to protect the integrity of the international women’s game and the safety of players.”
The organization also stressed its “commitment to gender equality” and announced it had approved equal pay for female match officials. The change is set to take effect in 2024.
International and professional sports leagues have varied in their approach to accommodation based on gender identity.
The World Athletics Council, which oversees track and field, prohibited athletes who have gone through “male puberty” from competing against female athletes.
“Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups, but we continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said at the time.
The International Rugby League ruled in June of 2022 that biologically male competitors who identify as transgender from playing in official international events until additional research could be completed.
“It is the IRL’s responsibility to balance the individual’s right to participate — a longstanding principle of rugby league and at its heart from the day it was established — against perceived risk to other participants, and to ensure all are given a fair hearing,” the organization said, per Fox News.
The news came shortly after the International Swimming Federation created an “open” league.
