Transgender soccer player Riley Dennis wins legal case in Sydney court
Transgender soccer player Riley Dennis has claimed victory in court. (ABC News: Shaun Kingma)
Transgender soccer player Riley Dennis has won a vilification case in the NSW local court, against anti-trans campaigner Kirralie Smith.
The magistrate decided Ms Smith unlawfully vilified Ms Dennis through a series of social media posts that were "capable of inciting serious contempt" and could "severely ridicule" Ms Dennis.
In 2023, Ms Smith launched a social media campaign to block transgender players from women's soccer in NSW.
She targeted 32-year-old Riley Dennis, who at the time played with a semi-professional team in League One. Ms Dennis now plays with the Flying Bats, an LGBTQI+ community team.
Ms Smith claimed on Facebook that 'a man appropriating womanhood' had injured two female players during a match, that caused both to be hospitalised.
Her post sparked calls from supporters to ban Ms Dennis from women's soccer.
However later in court Ms Smith admitted she had no evidence that Ms Dennis injured anyone.
"I tried to clarify who it was, what the game was, how it happened and was there any evidence ... I wasn't able to clarify," Ms Smith said during cross examination in April.
Ms Smith argued in court that her posts were valid political commentary. However in a 52-page judgement delivered on Tuesday, the magistrate found the posts were 'disproportionate' and lacked objective good faith.
The judgement concluded that Ms Smith's refusal to use Ms Dennis's preferred pronouns, and her dismissive attitude toward the impact of her posts, undermined her claim of good faith.
Speaking publicly about the ordeal for the first time, Ms Dennis told 7.30 going to court was a last resort.
"My default reaction to all of this was to curl up into a shell and let it all pass. But it didn't pass and it just got worse,"she said.
"But at the same time, I knew that if I didn't stand up for myself, that (people) would continue to target other queer and trans people who are just trying to play soccer or trying to play any sport."
Controversy spreads
Born in the US, Ms Dennis first gained public attention through her YouTube channel, where she delivered trans-related and other content, including information on hormone replacement therapy, for her over 100,000 followers.
Riley Dennis says she has been the target of trolls online. (ABC News: Shaun Kingma)
She moved to Australia in 2018 to live with the woman who would become her wife, Fiona, and joined the Flying Bats to stay active and make friends.
In late 2022 Ms Dennis was offered a spot with a semi-professional team in Football NSW's League One.
Her inclusion coincided with Ms Smith's campaign against trans players, on social media.
Ms Smith targeted Ms Dennis online, and her supporters quickly mobilised, sharing Ms Dennis's match details, and claiming she was "trying to injure women and girls".
Soon after, men began turning up to film her games and post the footage on social media.
"All of a sudden I just felt like there were a thousand eyes on me and that every move that I made was going to be so scrutinised," she said.
"Every time I'm running with the ball, every time I'm making a tackle or having a shot or something, there's going to be a thousand people who hate me."
Ms Smith's claims spread internationally and were picked up by a Canadian website.
It published game video of Riley Dennis making a challenge on another player, claiming that the player was later hospitalised.
Kirralie Smith was found to have unlawfully vilified trans soccer player Riley Dennis through social media posts. (X: Kirralie Smith)
No foul was recorded from the challenge and Football NSW records show that Ms Dennis only received one yellow card throughout the entire season.
"I didn't injure anyone. I didn't hospitalise anyone," Ms Dennis told 7.30.
Ms Smith also tweeted about Ms Dennis being the top goal scorer in the women's first grade competition.
"How is this fair? That spot belongs to a woman," she wrote.
Following Ms Smith's campaign, Ms Dennis wasn't offered a spot in the same league.
"For every team that I trialled for, it was kind of just a, 'no'. There wasn't really an explanation along with it," she said.
"Teams knew that if I was signed onto their team, that it would come with all this negative attention and it would be a political statement that they were making, which I understand, and I don't want that for any team. But at the same time, I'm not trying to be a political statement."
In a statement to 7.30 a spokesperson for Football Australia said: "We are actively progressing the development of our inclusion policy for transgender and gender-diverse people, with a particular focus on considerations within high-performance environments."
Ms Smith said in a statement to 7.30 that her advocacy has always been directed to football associations and their policies. She said that she never tried to prevent anyone from playing sport.
Global flashpoint
The presence of trans women in sport has become a flashpoint worldwide.
In the UK fans have protested against transgender bans in football. (Reuters: Isabel Infantes)
International governing bodies for sports such as cricket, swimming, athletics, cycling and rugby have all tightened eligibility rules to effectively exclude trans athletes from women's sports.
In February, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order forcing all federally funded sporting bodies to ban trans women from women's competitions.
US President Donald Trump gestures, as he signs an executive order banning transgender girls and women from participating in women's sports. (Reuters: Leah Millis)
Ms Dennis says the debate distorts reality.
"The only time we see trans women in sport in the media is when there's a controversy and when [for example] someone came in fifth place, so everyone's all mad about it," she said.
"But when trans players are out losing every weekend or not performing as well, no one cares."
Problems upon return to pitch
In 2024, Ms Dennis returned to play with the Flying Bats in a social league, hoping the backlash would ease.
Riley Dennis (left) has endured a tough time since rejoining the Flying Bats. (ABC News: Shaun Kingma)
Instead, the campaign intensified, focusing on her success on the pitch.
"When I came in last place with my team, no one said anything. It's obviously not about fairness or competitiveness. I think they just don't like us and don't want us to play sport," Ms Dennis said.
Teammate and former ABC reporter Sam Lewis, says she was also targeted, after being covertly filmed and wrongly identified as trans online.
"It's been really scary. I've played this whole season with one eye on the sidelines because I've been scared that there have been people showing up wanting to take footage of me and my teammates and my friends," Ms Lewis said.
She said neither Football NSW nor Football Australia has offered support.
"We are a member of Football Australia, and yet we're receiving no support at all," she said.
Ms Lewis, is also the club president of the Flying Bats, and said when she approached the CEO of Football NSW during a conference and asked him to issue a statement of support on behalf of the governing body, he refused.
"He said 'no'. I was shocked," she said.
Football NSW did not respond to 7.30's question about this alleged conversation.
In a statement Football NSW said that it is committed to providing a safe, inclusive and supporting environment for everyone.
Ms Dennis requested the court grant her an injunction preventing Ms Smith from identifying her again. She also sought a public apology from Ms Smith, the removal of the offensive posts, a direction that Ms Smith implement an anti-discrimination policy within her organisation and up to $100,000 in damages if Ms Smith fails to comply with court orders within two months.
The court will hear further submissions about damages and costs later this year.