A women’s netball team in Victoria, Australia, has forfeited a match against an opposing team with a “non-binary” male player after raising concerns about safety. Echuca United Netball Club chose to concede the A-grade match against Rumbalara Football Netball Club over the inclusion a male player who identified as “non-binary.”
While the identity of that player is currently unknown, the incident has sparked widespread debate surrounding the inclusion of male players across the state of Victoria in women’s netball. In 2018, policies implemented by Netball Victoria allowed men to self-identify into women’s sport based on their “gender identity.” The policy has resulted in multiple incidents involving trans-identified males participating in women’s netball in Victoria.
One of those known incidents involves a man named David Capron, who uses he/him and they/them pronouns.
Capron has competed in both men’s and women’s netball competitions in recent seasons. A former national men’s championship player, Capron has also played in suburban women’s leagues, including those affiliated with the Eastern Football Netball League (EFNL) and Southern Football Netball League (SFNL).
His participation in the last two seasons immediately drew criticism from some players and coaches, who argued that allowing a male athlete with experience in high-level men’s competition to compete in women’s leagues creates an uneven and unsafe playing field. Concerns raised include physical differences, competitive balance, and the potential displacement of female players from team positions.
One coach speaking to the Herald Sun described the situation as “dangerous” and said some teams had considered refusing to take the court. Several players expressed frustration that complaints to league officials had not resulted in action.
Capron has said that he believes “biological gender has nothing to do with ability,” suggesting that performance in sport is determined by training and effort rather than biological sex. He has also framed his participation as a matter of “visibility,” saying he hopes to serve as a positive example for LGBTQ+ youth in community sport.
Since the controversy first ignited, Capron has left Victoria and moved to Western Australia. His most recent social media posts show that he was participating as an umpire at the Australian Men’s and Mixed Netball Association nationals last month in Perth.
But Capron is not the only controversial netball player who took advantage of rules allowing males to self-identify onto women’s teams in Victoria.
Last year, after public outcry, the Riddell District Football Netball league made the decision to ban two trans-identified male players from playing against females, one of whom was kept anonymous while the other was publicly named as Manawa Aranui.
The ban came shortly after footage emerged of a female netballer being knocked to the ground by Aranui. The recording, also published by The Herald Sun, showed the female player falling after hitting into her much larger male opponent.
The video was released just days after Netball Victoria announced it would be investigating to determine whether or not the inclusion of male athletes who claim a transgender status would pose a risk to female athletes.
This decision was spurred by a boycott threat from The Melton South Netball Club when confronted with matches against Melton Central, where Aranui and the other unnamed transgender player were team members.
🚨🚨🚨 Footage has emerged of a female netballer being knocked to the ground after clashing with a trans identified male player who used to play elite men’s netball.
— Rachael Wong (@RachaelWongAus) May 27, 2025
It comes after Netball Victoria launched a review into whether these male players pose a risk to female players.… pic.twitter.com/uCDM7m6rDH
At the time, Melton South’s netball coordinator Melissa Dawson told News Corp she would support her teammates if they chose to forfeit games over safety concerns.
“One of the players is six foot something – it’s ridiculous,” she said. “Netball Victoria needs to put the safety of biological females first.”
The following month, in June of 2025, Netball Victoria issued a statement declaring that it “proudly supports an inclusive and welcoming environment.”
Citing Netball Australia and the Australian Sports Commission, Netball Victoria said that laws “require netball, like other community sports, to recognise non-binary players’ chosen gender and allow them to play in the competition they are comfortable with.”
However, the Riddell District Football Netball took its own action and chose to ban Aranui and a second, unnamed transgender player from competing against females under its flag.
“After lengthy consideration and consultation, the RDFNL has ruled that the two transgender participants be excluded from the RDFNL Netball Competitions for the remainder of the 2025 season on the premise that both participants exhibit superior, stamina and physique over their competitors deeming Section 42 of the Sex Discrimination Act relevant,” the statement said.
The sporting authority’s policy on “transgender” and “gender diverse” players, which was implemented in 2022, allows individuals to “participate in the gender category they identify with or feel most comfortable participating in, regardless of their sex assigned at birth”.
Australian sporting policy on “gender identity,” published in 2019, allows players to participate according to the category they claim to identify with, regardless of biology. The guidance was led by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), with the input of the Australian Human Rights Commission.