Exclusion of non-binary people: soccer league sows controversy

Val Bonifaz describes his team’s style of play simply.

No question of ball control, technical mastery or developing an effective attack.

We just want to kick the ball and have funsays Val, who uses the pronoun iel.

The league has two divisions, explains Val Bonifaz, whose team, Evergreen FCis part of the second.

The team, named in reference to the forest green jerseys assigned to them, plays in the women’s division of the Toronto recreational soccer league Stadium Sport Leagues since 2022.

All players on the team are part of the community LGBTQ+. Many, like Val Bonifaz, are non-binary. The goalkeeper is a trans woman. Facts which, until the morning of November 4, 2024, had never posed a problem.

Only women are allowed to play

That day, Riley Yesno and his wife Mel Hoskins, the two co-captains of the team Evergreen FCreceived an email from the league.

The message contained the list of all the members of their team who chose the mentions unknown or other as their gender identity when registering.

I felt like my identity was being put on trial, that I was being scrutinized and that I was being told that I was not welcome.

In the email, of which - obtained a copy, Stadium Sport Leagues explains that only people who identify as female when registering are allowed to play in the women’s league. People who identify as non-binary must play in the mixed league.

In subsequent emails, the league explained that it made this decision after receiving complaints from players who said they did not feel safe playing against the Evergreen FC.

I responded by saying that we never had a yellow card, warnings or reprimands from the referees. I don’t understand what they are relying on to say this, other than the fact that some of our players are visibly queersays Riley Yesno.

The young woman adds that this decision contravenes the league’s inclusion policy which stipulates that no referee or player has the right to challenge the gender identity of a player, at the risk of being imposed penalties.

It was Riley Yesno who wrote this policy. The young woman claims to have proposed to the organization to do so after witnessing incidents of a discriminatory nature towards his wife Mel Hoskins, a non-binary person, within the mixed division of the league, during a previous season .

I offered to write a gender inclusion policy because it was clear the league needed one and they agreed.explains Riley Yesno, who is also a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto and an expert on gender and Indigenous issues.

She contends that the league later amended the document to specify that people who did not identify as male or female were only allowed to play in the mixed league, an option that some players inEvergreen FC refuse to take it into consideration.

Even for cisgender women, playing in a mixed league can be perilous. […] When I played in a mixed league, I saw so many physical and verbal altercations break out on the field. This almost never happens in women’s leaguessays Riley Yesno.

If you are non-binary or trans, you expose yourself to double discrimination.

Val Bonifaz shares this opinion.

There are sometimes people who take out their aggression on minorities on the ground, that is to say, women or trans and non-binary peoplehe thinks.

The league withdraws

In an email sent on November 22, the league announced the immediate entry into force of its decision as well as the cancellation of matches for a week, in order to allow teams to make a decision regarding their players. The league adds that its policy is similar to other sports leagues in the region, such as JAM Sports.

In the meantime, Evergreen FC launched a petition to oppose the league’s policy, which collected more than 1,000 signatures, including that of Quinn, a transgender member of the Canadian women’s soccer team.

I believe trans and non-binary players are capable of choosing the league that best suits their skills, identity and abilities.says Riley Yesno.

A week later, Stadium Sport Leagues retracted. In an email of which - obtained a copy, the league explains that representatives of other teams met to discuss league policies and decided to accept the participation of non-binary people in the women’s league.

Our policies may be changed at any time if we feel it is necessary to do so for any player and teamspecifies the organization in an email sent to Evergreen FC.

Stadium Sport Leagues did not accept -’s interview request. In an email, she says her goal is to provide a safe playing space for all athletes.

Our league is open to everyone and we have options for everyoneshe declares.

Sports organizations under pressure

For Guylaine Demers, professor in the physical education department of Laval University and specialist in questions LGBTQ+ in sport, this incident demonstrates the lack of preparation of sports organizations, both recreational and competitive, in the face of gender issues.

The problem right now is that everyone is making hasty decisions. All of a sudden there are people complaining, [donc] we react without having thought about the impactsshe said.

In the United States, for example, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) sowed controversy by adopting a policy in August 2024 that only allows people born female who have not started male hormonal transition to participate in female sports competitions. Trans men can participate in men’s competitions.

Last year, the Alberta government introduced a bill which, if adopted, would prohibit access to women’s sports competitions by people who are not biologically female.

The idea we need to challenge is that trans people are dangerous and want to take advantage of women’s spacespense Riley Yesno.

Guylaine Demers believes that resorting to catch-all policies is not necessary, given the low rate of non-binary and transgender people in the Canadian population and in sport.

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According to Statistics Canada, in 2019, only 0.2% of young people aged 12 to 17 considered themselves non-binary and 0.2% considered themselves transgender.

Our young people just want to play sports. […] I find that we are really dehumanizing a lot.

Despite the controversy, the team Evergreen FC did not kick for touch and decided to continue the season within the league Stadium Sport Leagues.

The experience, however, left a bitter taste for Riley Yesno and Val Bonifaz.

I felt dehumanized, whereas before I just had fun playing with my friendssaid Val Bonifaz.