Toronto recreational soccer team calls on league to change gender inclusion policy

A recreational soccer team in Toronto says controversy surrounding its league's gender policy, which temporarily excluded non-binary players from women's teams, has sparked a bigger conversation about accessibility and support for LGBTQ+ athletes. Evergreen FC pose for a group photo at their fundraiser in a Dec. 7, 2024, handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Evergreen FC, Sam Rayner *MANDATORY CREDIT*

A recreational soccer team in Toronto says controversy surrounding its league's gender policy, which temporarily excluded non-binary players from women's teams, has sparked a bigger conversation about accessibility and support for LGBTQ+ athletes.

Evergreen FC co-captain Riley Yesno says her team, composed of female, LGBTQ+ and gender diverse members, has been playing in the women's division of Stadium Sport Leagues since 2022.

But last month, the league sent Yesno's co-captain an email saying any members of Evergreen FC who are not registered as "female" would only be permitted to play on a co-ed team.

In followup emails Yesno shared with The Canadian Press, the league said it had to enforce its "gender inclusive policy" because it received complaints from some players who said they didn't "feel safe" playing against Evergreen FC. The league said in those emails that its policy is in line with other adult recreational sport leagues in the region.

Yesno said in an interview that her team, which she describes as "fully queer," hadn't received any yellow cards or disciplinary action that would have warranted such a complaint. She also said the league's email to the team goes against a policy she helped write in order to foster inclusion.

Yesno said she offered to help Stadium Sport Leagues create a gender inclusion policy last year, after allegations of gender discrimination during co-ed games.

"I wrote them a policy which basically stated that nobody was allowed to question anybody's gender, no player, no staff member," said Yesno, a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto. "There would be consequences in the form of a red card or like disciplinary action if that was to take place."

The league adopted the policy, but it was recently updated without notice, Yesno said, requiring those whose gender was registered as "unknown" or "other" to only play in co-ed leagues, without the option to play in male or female leagues.

Yesno said the requirement was added at some point without her knowledge, while the league said in internal emails that it had not been enforcing its gender policy "to its fullest" and would begin doing so after safety concerns were raised by other teams.

"If you're not allowed to question people's gender, I don't know how they thought they would enforce that," Yesno said.

Co-ed leagues aren't always a viable option for gender diverse people, Yesno added, saying she has seen physical and verbal altercations in co-ed games that often don't happen in women's games.

After Evergreen FC raised its concerns, the administration ultimately changed its policy to allow people who mark their gender status as "other" or "unknown" to play in the women’s league.

Internal emails show the league said team representatives had met to discuss its policies, and the change was a result of a "collective decision."

When asked about the allegations of gender discrimination and concerns about its gender inclusion policy, Stadium Sport Leagues said it is "open to everyone."

"Stadium Sport Leagues is passionate about the sport of soccer and aims to provide a safe place for any athlete to play," it said in an emailed statement.

"Our leagues are open to everyone, and we have an option for all."

The controversy over the league's policy has continued to play out in public, amid a broader conversation about inclusivity in sport.

In the wake of the league's claims that there had been complaints about her team, before the policy was updated anew, Yesno created an online petition calling on the league to make policy changes more inclusive of non-binary, transgender and gender diverse people. It said if that didn't happen, signatories would withdraw their support for Stadium Sport Leagues.

It pointed to organizations such as Canada Soccer, the International Olympic Committee and the NCAA, all of which have adopted gender inclusion policies.

So far, there are more than 1,000 signatures on the petition.

Yesno said high-profile transgender athletes have reached out to offer support, including Quinn from Canada's national women’s soccer team, and Nikki Hiltz, a Team USA track and field Olympian. Quinn and Hiltz could not be reached for comment.

Yesno said Evergreen FC has offered to help the league implement a policy better informed by non-binary, transgender and LGBTQ+ players.

Evergreen FC player Val Bonifaz said the team plays primarily for fun and has "historically never won" games.

"We've been here for a while, and nobody's had an issue with us until now," Bonifaz said.

The league's latest policy is less inclusive than what it started out with, Bonifaz pointed out, because it only allows for gender diverse people to join women's teams.

"This is not a step forward in terms of trans-inclusive policy," said Bonifaz.

"Because that leaves out the choice for people like myself to go where I feel safe playing, whether that's a men's league, a co-ed league or a women's league. ... It's all of us or it's none of us, in my opinion."

The team hasn't yet decided whether to continue playing beyond the current season, Yesno said, saying she sees the league as a "hostile and unsafe environment."

The issue goes far beyond recreational sports, she said.

In Alberta, a bill set to become law will ban transgender athletes from competing in female amateur sports and require schools and organizations to report eligibility complaints.

In the U.S., the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics sparked controversy earlier this year after implementing a new policy in which all athletes can participate in NAIA-sponsored men's sports at 241 colleges across the country — but women's sports only allow athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth is female and who have not started hormone therapy.

In March, 16 U.S. college athletes filed a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association, claiming the NCAA violated their civil rights by allowing transgender woman Lia Thomas to participate in the national swimming championships in 2022.

Gender discrimination can happen anywhere, Bonifaz said.

"We're not immune to it, and I think we have to be very vigilant about how we’re speaking about these things that are reaching far beyond just Toronto."

While it's been an emotional few weeks for Evergreen FC, the outpouring of support has given team members a lot of hope, said Bonifaz.

"It has been really heartening to see a lot of allies, whether that's in our own communities, and also the soccer community, specifically in Toronto," they said.

"So at the same time as we're getting the brunt of (these) anti-trans policies ... it does give me some hope that we can come together and try to make things better than they are now.”

Bonifaz said they hope young athletes who identify as non-binary, transgender, or gender diverse know that the LGBTQ+ community will always stand by them.

"I think it's important to know that we are here. We've always been here and always will be," they said. "I think if you look in the right places, you’ll find a lot of support."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press.