Women’s rights activist in Australia faces court over 'misgendering' biological male players in women’s soccer

An Australian women’s rights campaigner is facing two criminal accusations for “misgendering” after speaking out against male athletes playing in women’s soccer leagues.

Kirralie Smith, a spokeswoman for Binary Australia, has been served with two Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs)—similar to restraining orders—after identifying two trans-identified male soccer players as men. Smith opposes men in women’s sports and has argued that gender identity policies are putting female athletes at risk, reports REDUXX.

One of the AVOs was filed by Riley Dennis, a male player on the Flying Bats Football Club, a team for “self-identified women and non-binary people.” Dennis is one of five male players on the team, which dominated the 2024 season—winning all 17 games and outscoring opponents 76 to 8. Smith launched a letter-writing campaign in 2024 that encouraged people to contact Football New South Wales after reports surfaced that Dennis had injured multiple female players.

Dennis claimed in court that Smith had “outed” him as male, though he has been publicly known as a trans activist for nearly a decade. Smith told the court she would not use female pronouns for Dennis, saying she was stating a fact. When asked if she thought that was “mean,” Smith said she did not.

Reduxx previously reported that Dennis had been involved in rough tackles that left women injured. In one 2023 match, Dennis sent a smaller female opponent flying into a metal fence. She lay unmoving while Dennis walked away. Another woman injured by Dennis allegedly needed hospital care. Dennis later left his previous team and applied to multiple clubs before being accepted by the Flying Bats.

Smith says she was visited by New South Wales Police and handed an AVO on March 30, 2024, banning her from speaking about or approaching Dennis. She also reported having her social media censored.

In February, Smith appeared in court for a separate AVO filed by another male soccer player, Stephanie Blanch, who plays for the Wingham Warriors women’s team. Smith had never met Blanch but referred to him in a tweet as a “bloke on the women’s team in Wingham,” and also posted a photo of him with the caption “bloke in a frock.”

Blanch’s original AVO request was denied in early 2024, but he appealed. A court later ruled that Smith “repeatedly referred to the Appellant as a male, a man, a bloke and ‘he,’ where the Appellant does not refer to herself that way.” The court said her words were “belittling and offensive.”

Blanch has since removed much of his online presence. Results about him have been scrubbed from Google, likely due to action by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner.

Smith continues to face legal action for raising concerns about injuries to women in soccer caused by male players identifying as women.