NPR

Transgender Hockey Player Postpones Hormone Treatment To Keep Playing

Sports leagues have struggled with how to define gender when it comes to deciding who can play. Pro hockey player Harrison Browne has decided to postpone hormone therapy for one more year on the ice.
Harrison Browne, seen here playing for the Buffalo Beauts, says he feels lucky to be part of a league that accepts him and wants him to feel comfortable.

Last year, Harrison Browne was done with the National Women's Hockey League, retiring at age 23 in order to undergo hormone therapy and surgery as part of his physical gender transition.

But earlier this month, Browne, a transgender man, made a surprising announcement: He would delay his medical transition to sign with the New York Riveters and play another season in the National Women's Hockey League. The league doesn't require that players identify as female, but says they must not be using hormone therapy if they are transgender men, meaning people who are designated female at birth but identify as male.

Browne's tough decision sheds new light on how the strict line between male and female in the world of sports is blurring, as society grapples with new norms of gender identity.

Before the 2016 season began, Browne went to the NWHL to tell them he was transgender and wanted to go by male pronouns and the name Harrison Browne. This kind of "coming out" when it comes to gender identity

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR3 min read
In W. Va. Primary, Establishment Candidates For Governor Highlight Culture War Issues
Several Republicans with deep ties to state politics vye in the primary to face the Democrat in November
NPR4 min read
Israel Expands Evacuation Orders In Rafah As Aid Groups Struggle To Prepare
Israel's military issued new evacuation orders in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, forcing even more Palestinians to relocate on Saturday ahead of a likely expanded ground operation there.
NPR4 min read
Catalan Separatists Lose Majority As Spain's Socialists Win Regional Elections
Catalonia's separatist parties are in danger of losing their hold on power in the northeastern region after the pro-union Socialist Party scored a historic result in Sunday's election.

Related Books & Audiobooks