We, the fans and supporters of Women’s Elite Rugby (WER), denounce their recent ban of our transgender sisters from participation in the league. Women’s rugby has always stood for growth and community, and WER is currently exhibiting anything but. 

Following a controversial USA Rugby policy change that demanded that transgender women be removed from competitive games on women’s teams, Women’s Elite Rugby elected to enforce this policy upon their already-drafted players for the 2026 season. This included banning multiple players from matches, communication channels, and practices, even after they had uprooted their lives to become WER athletes. WER’s enforcement goes above and beyond what the USAR policy demanded, harming affected players even further than the policy change seemingly necessitated. The official statement admitting to their ban makes no mention of their new eligibility criteria or process, and does not acknowledge the direct harm they caused to affected players.

The banned athletes are beloved members of our rugby community, and they deserve our support now more than ever.

We demand action be taken to return WER to the inclusive league it was in the inaugural season.

Our requests are as follows:

Allow the banned women back at practices, unofficial matches, and community events.

• The USA Rugby ruling that WER has cited as their reasoning does not dictate that this extra ostracization is necessary to remain a sanctioned women’s league. Despite acknowledging this, WER has told transgender women that they are not allowed as participants in any of the aforementioned spaces.
  • https://scrumhalfconnection.com/2026/04/24/the-unsettled-law-and-selective-ban-haunting-womens-elite-rugby/

Make transparent the new eligibility criteria WER is operating on to exclude transgender women from competitive matches.

• Unlike the USA Rugby policy (which operates on the presumption of eligibility) WER has presumed ineligibility of certain players they drafted. The women who were banned were not given any recourse to “prove” their identities or assigned gender at birth. Will this happen to other players in future seasons? All athletes deserve to know what their criteria may be, when they change, and whether they too may be unfairly targeted by the league.
  • https://scrumhalfconnection.com/2026/04/24/the-unsettled-law-and-selective-ban-haunting-womens-elite-rugby/
• USA Rugby’s CEO says that after a gender discrepancy grievance is filed, the USAR investigation would consist of verifying the accused athlete’s birth certificate or two forms of government ID. Is this WER’s proposed system as well? If so, why were banned players not given this opportunity?
  • https://youtu.be/IWYgEccV5L0?si=YW8zPvpWpMarC3s5&t=1164

Apologize publicly for the harm they have inflicted, acknowledging that their haste to over-enforce the ban goes against the values they claim to uphold.

• The Instagram statement WER released on 4/15/26 says “we encourage our athletes, fans, and community to review [our actions] and hold us accountable”. They since have made no further effort to act upon these action items and are avoiding all social media comments that reference the ban. The link below is the only way to access the statement, as it is not posted in any section of their website.
  • https://www.womenseliterugby.us/wer-commitment
• The same statement regarding their own ban on transgender women did not use the words “transgender” or “trans”, obscuring the impact of their words and proposed actions. Direct and total acknowledgement of their own participation in discrimination is necessary to move towards reconciliation with the affected communities.

Advocate against USA Rugby’s ban.

• Our end goal is of course to see our favorite transgender athletes and friends back on the competitive pitch. Since WER claims USA Rugby’s sanctioning is their reasoning for this discriminatory move, we want to see how they are planning to help reverse it. If they are truly against the ban, as they claim in their statements, what are they doing to resist it?
  • https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/30/womens-rugby-trans-ban 

Though Women’s Elite Rugby has eroded their community’s trust with their enforcement of a discriminatory ban, these steps would help reinvigorate enthusiasm for the league. Transparency regarding the specific decisions of the WER’s board has been sorely lacking, even and especially when those decisions directly affect their own players. Many of us have athletes still allowed on the pitch who we are itching to support, but feel disillusioned with the league due to their leadership’s recent behavior. We want to go to games where all of our favorite ruggers are visible on the elite women’s pitch. 

We, the undersigned fans of Women’s Elite Rugby, do not stand with their decision to exclude transgender women and strongly encourage them to take these restorative steps. We hope that the Women’s Elite Rugby league can take accountability for the harm they’ve caused through meaningful action.