Let Us Play: Winning the Battle for Gender Diverse Athletes (Queer Ideas/Queer Action)

A crucial subversion of the misconceptions around the participation of genderdiverse athletes—advocating for the inclusion of trans and nonbinary athletes across all levels of sport

The debate over theinclusion of gender diverse people in sport has become the latest battleground in the fight for basic human rights and equality.Trans and nonbinary people around the worldare facing physical harm and violence—including death—at unprecedented rates.In Let Us Play, trans athlete Harrison Browne and investigative journalist Rachel Browne reveal how the opposition towards gender diverse athletes is fueled by fear and a moral panic as opposed to facts around what makes “a level playing field.”

Interweaving Harrison’s first-hand experience as a transgender athlete with exclusive accounts—from athletes, coaches, policymakers, and advocates on the front lines—Let Us Play dismantles the illusion that sports have ever been fair, that trans athletes pose a threat to women’s sports, and that gender-affirming healthcare for athletes should be prohibitive to play.

Calling for a reframing of the binaries from youth and high school levels all the way to the national leagues, Browne and Browneoffer a new path forward, led by solutions proposed by gender diverse athletes themselves.

Harrison Browne is the first transgender athlete in professional hockey. He was part of the NWHL and played for the Metropolitan Riveters and the Buffalo Beauts.He is the inclusion leader for the NWHL advisory board and special ambassador for the NHL's Hockey Is for Everyone initiative.

Rachel Browne is an award-winning investigative journalist and documentary producer whose work appears in VICE News, POLITICO, Global News, Maclean’s magazine, Discovery+, and elsewhere.