Sports News | Coming Out Stories | Video
Gayes, congratulations are in order for retired, sevens Olympic gold champion Ellia Green. The 29 year old Australian rugby athlete came out as trans Tuesday (Aug. 16) at the Bingham Cup Tournament. Green has now made history as the first Olympian to come out as a transgender man, according to a video to the biennial world championships of gay and inclusive rugby.
The gold medalist confessed that after retiring in November 2021, he found inspiration in himself to transition.
“One promise that I made to myself (is) that when my rugby career ended, I would continue to live the rest of my life in the identity, in the body that I should have."
He continued: "That's a really difficult thing to do in this time of day. All you have to do is turn on the TV, look on social media platforms, and you can see the amount of bullying, harm and discrimination that goes on about gender identities. It's extremely harmful, so for someone to be open and honest about that to the public eye is absolutely daunting."
During the video, Green also addressed discrimination against trans rugby athletes, as the sport’s global governing body, banned transgender women from competing in women’s rugby in 2021, citing safety concerns and “performance advantages.
“Banning transgender people from sport I think it's disgraceful, and I think it’s hurtful,” he said in the video.
“I think that the rates of suicide and mental health will get even worse” for trans and gender-diverse youth."
Green later told MSN that: "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."
Ellia's name will remain the same post transition, as he prepares for fatherhood with his partner, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, to daughter, Waitui.
He expressed, "My mother would always dress me in girlie outfits, I always wanted to make her happy, so if she wanted me to wear a dress, I wore a dress." But behind her back, I always used to wear my brother’s clothes, played with tools, and ran around with no shirt on. Until I grew breasts, and I thought 'oh no'."
It's no secret that transmen and transwomen have a bad connation towards sports whether college, high school, or other various competitive games. So after six years, Ellia Green has finally paved the way for more inclusion as the epitome of an athlete.
In conclusion Green said, “For someone to be open about being trans in the public eye is absolutely daunting", later he confessed that after his games he would spend his spare time in a dark room. Contemplating on whether or not his lifestyle was the reason he wasn't picked for the Tokyo Olympics.
So Gayes, without further presentation, we now formally introduce to you Mister Ellia Green.