The bias of the ABC when it comes to women’s sport and transgender participation is contemptuous. Their reporting is completely one-sided when and if they chose to publish stories in the matter.

Most recently there is a puff piece about women’s roller derby. But it is clear that the women’s division is really a mixed division where anything goes. 

In February this year, SRDL implemented the updated gender policy recommended by the sport's US-based global governing body, the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

The policy is considered one of the most progressive in world sport, and encourages the participation of any individual of what WFTDA calls a "Marginalised Gender", regardless of their presentation or gender they were assigned at birth.

It allows for trans women and men as well as non-binary people to play alongside cis women and is at odds with US President Donald Trump's February 5 executive order to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports.

What the ABC fails to do is provide a balanced opinion. The news article focuses on non-binary and transgender males while appealing to emotive reasoning of why they should be allowed to participate despite being male.

"Commando" started skating with SRDL not long before their 40th birthday.

"Since my mid to late teens, I've always described my gender as mine," Commando said.

"I knew I wasn't a man, I didn't feel like I was a woman.

"I wasn't either — but I also wasn't necessarily in the middle."

"Now, if you feel like WFDTA League is your home, then that's your home, and that's all that WFTDA cares about," Commando said.

"There's a lot of things to love about that.

"For me personally, it means that I've been able to return home."

The ABC failed to share the perspectives of women who have to either accept this bad policy or self exclude.

Earlier this year Sky news presenter Caroline Marcus produced a half hour special called Fair Game about transgender participation in women’s sport. https://www.binary.org.au/fair-game-is-now-on-youtube 

One of the featured athletes in Fair Game, Monique Murphy, plays women’s roller derby and shared about her experience of being injured by a male player. She and others have also had to self-exclude from the game because of the unfair, and unsafe policy.

Murphy warned that being “too open and inclusive will just ruin” women’s sport.

“Many women leave, very scared. Scared to speak out as well.”

“I got hit in the shoulder so intensely hard. He purposely hit me as hard as he possibly could. I got a grade 2 AC joint shoulder injury.”

Women have reportedly made allegations against male roller derby players in the women’s division but no action has been taken other than to call the women “transphobic.”

The ABC have failed in their biased reporting. They have ignored and minimised the real cost to women for the sake of their support for males in women’s sport. It is time they were held to account for their misuse of taxpayer funds.

^{Image Source: The Sydney Roller Derby League trains at the cavernous Dunc Gray Velodrome. (ABC News: Scott Preston): https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-25/roller-derby-and-fringe-lgbtqia-sports/105448406}