Ellia Green Becomes First Olympian to Come Out as a Trans Man
Ellia Green, a former Olympic rugby champion, publicly announced his transition, making him the first Olympian to come out as a transgender man.
In an Aug. 16 video for Bingham Cup’s International Summit on tackling transphobia and homophobia in sports, Green spoke about his journey with his identity, using he/him pronouns. Green, who has kept the same name, was previously on the Australian rugby team, winning gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics, before announcing his retirement at the end of 2016. The athlete's retirement marked the end of a 10-year career.
In the video, Green began by denouncing bans on trans people in sports, calling them "disgraceful" and "hurtful." He then continued to say that his views are informed by his own journey, opening up for the first time about his transition.
Although Green had a successful career with the 2016 Olympic win, he said at the end of his career, he began to struggle with his mental health.
"One promise that I made to myself (was) 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," Green said.
But that promise was not easy to follow through with, he noted. With the amount of "bullying and harm that goes on about gender identities," Green said it was difficult for him to be open about his identity, especially in the public eye.
After not being picked for the Tokyo Olympics, he said he spent much of his time sitting in his house feeling "like a complete failure." However, there was one thing that he said got him through that time.
"The one thing that kept me positive was the fact that I had planned my surgery, my top surgery, and it was something that I had literally been counting down the days with my beautiful partner," he said. "I just knew it was going to be the most liberating feeling when I had that surgery and when I would start to take the steps towards being in the body that I know I am meant to be in."
Green has a daughter with his partner, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts.
The athlete called his transition a "bright spark" during his dark times and said he wishes people would understand how stressful the process is.
"(It's) hard when people ask you so many questions instead of just saying, 'Hey, that’s great, I respect that, that’s awesome' — that’s literally all. I think some people take it as almost like you’re saying you’re an alien just because you’re not fitting into the social norm of being male or female," Green said.
While the public announcement was not easy for the athlete, who said his heart was racing and palms were sweaty during the video, he hopes people listening will know that "it does get better."
Although he said he's worried how people will react to his public transition, he said he's learned that they're bound to say something anyway, regardless of if he's changing genders or something else.
"People are always going to have something to say, whether that be positive or negative, and I’ve learned that in 10 years of being a professional rugby player," Green said. "So why not just live the rest of your life exactly as you want to be? Because life is just too short to live it as something else. And you are beautiful."
In 2021, trans weightlifter Laurel Hubbard from New Zealand became the first trans athlete in the Games' history. That same summer, Canadian soccer star Quinn made history as the first openly trans athlete to win an Olympic medal after the team defeated Sweden.
