Australian Olympic gold medallist Ellia Green comes out as trans man in brave announcement
Australian Olympic champion Ellia Green has come out as a transgender man. The 29-year-old made the announcement in a pre-recorded video shown at an international summit in Canada on ending homophobia and transphobia in sport.
“I promised myself that when my rugby career ended, I would continue to live the rest of my life in the identity and the body that I know I am meant to be in,” Green said. “I just knew it was going to be the most liberating feeling when I had that surgery and to be in the body I knew I had to be.
“That was a bright spark in my mind during these dark times facing demons, but I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel.” The former Rugby Sevens star won the gold medal with his country at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, and has now become the first Olympian to come out as a trans man.
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The only other transgender or gender diverse Olympic gold medalists are decathlete Caitlyn Jenner and football player Quinn, who won gold in Tokyo with Canada last year. Green hopes his courage to come out will inspire others in a similar position to do the same.
“A big reason why I wanted to do this and talk is because I want my daughter to see me one day and say, ‘Wow, my dad was brave enough to talk about this, and my dad was brave enough to share his story with others to help them live their lives a little better, a little easier than what he did at this time,’” he explained. “It is possible to live a life as your true self. It is possible to find love, to have babies, to get married, to do all that, even though there are laws out there and people saying you can and can’t do that. You can do it.”
His announcement has come in the wake of transgender women being blocked by World Rugby from competing in women’s rugby union. The decision was met with backlash from trans advocates including Green, who believes the ruling will only add to any mental health issues and transphobia suffered by those in the trans community.
(Image: Ottawa Wolves Rugby Football Club/Youtube)
“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,” said Green. “I think that the alarmingly high rates of suicide and the mental health challenges which trans and gender diverse youth experience will get even worse.”
Green revealed he suffered from some mental health issues of his own, after failing to make the rugby sevens team for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “I was ashamed of myself, I felt I had let a lot of people down, especially myself and my mom. I felt like a complete failure, it was heartbreaking,” he said.
“The one thing that did keep me positive is that I had already planned my surgery and treatment towards my transition. It was something I was counting down the days with my partner.”
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