"I will not stop fighting" - Danielle McGahey quits international cricket after ICC ruling against transgender women
Canadian transgender cricketer Danielle McGahey has stated that her international career is "over" after the International Cricket Council's (ICC) ruling to ban those who have undergone male puberty from participating in high-level women's cricket.
McGahey became the first transgender cricketer to take part in an international match when she played a Women's T20 for Canada against Brazil in September.
The Australian-born played grade cricket as a man in Melbourne, before moving to Canada in 2020. She transitioned socially in 2020 before also undergoing a medical transition in 2021, and began playing women's cricket in Canada. McGahey was called into the national women's team in October 2022.
"Following the ICC's decision this morning, it is with a very heavy heart that I must say that my international cricketing career is over," McGahey wrote on Instagram. "As quickly as it begun, it must now end. Thank you so much to everybody who has supported me in my journey, from my all of my teammates, all of the opposition, the cricketing community."
McGahey also vowed to continue fighting for transgender rights.
"While I hold my opinions on the ICC's decision, they are irrelevant," she wrote. "What matters is the message being sent to millions of trans women today, a messaging say that we don't belong. I promise I will not stop fighting for equality for us in our sport, we deserve the right to play cricket at the highest level, we are not a threat to the integrity or safety of the sport."
Playing as an opening batter, McGahey featured in all six of Canada's matches during the Women's T20 World Cup Americas region qualifiers in Los Angeles. She scored 118 runs at an average of 19.67 with a highest score of 48. Canada finished second in the four-team event and failed to qualify.
"Our priority was to protect the integrity of the international women's game" - ICC statement that led to McGahey's retirement
When McGahey played her first international match, an ICC spokesperson had said she ticked all the criteria for a trans woman's participation. However, the world body changed their rules on Tuesday.
"The changes to the gender eligibility regulations resulted from an extensive consultation process and are founded in science and aligned with the core principles developed during the review," the ICC statement said.
"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 statement added.
The advocates of transgender rights have called it a discriminatory move.