Quidditch, a sport inspired by the “Harry Potter” franchise, is changing its name after several associations cited author J.K. Rowling’s “anti-trans positions.”
Two major Quidditch organizations, U.S. Quidditch and Major League Quidditch, said in a joint statement various surveys will be conducted to determine a new name for the sport, NBC News reported.
The leagues cited several reasons for the name change, including that the name “quidditch” is trademarked by Warner Bros., the studio which produced the “Harry Potter” series, and noted that the expansion for the sport through sponsorships and broadcasting options has been restricted, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Harry Potter Author J.K. Rowling Slams Police For Letting Rapists With Penises Identify As Women)
Another reason for the change was to ” distance themselves from the works of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who has increasingly come under scrutiny for her anti-trans positions in recent years,” the joint statement read, according to NBC News.
The renowned writer came under scrutiny in June 2020 after she criticized an article that read “people who menstruate,” leading some to accuse her of being transphobic, NBC News reported.
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
In a 4,000 word blog post released days after her tweet, Rowling revealed she is a survivor of domestic abuse and stated that she was “deeply concerned about the consequences of the current trans activism,” the outlet reported.
Rowling blasted what she said were “hundreds of trans activists” who threatened her with a “pipe bomb” and “rape.” “To be fair, when you can’t get a woman sacked, arrested or dropped by her publisher, and cancelling her only made her book sales go up, there’s really only one place to go,” Rowling said in July.
Rowling also said in late November that transgender activists have attacked her and posted her family’s address on social media. “Last Friday, my family’s address was posted on Twitter by three activist actors who took pictures of themselves in front of our house, carefully positioning themselves to ensure that our address was visible,” the autho
Quidditch’s governing body, the International Quidditch Association, says one of the sport’s values is inclusivity.
“As a community we want our sport to be inclusive of people of different ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, ages, languages, genders, sexual orientations,” the association’s website states, according to NBC News. “A key demonstration of this is the Gender Rule in quidditch, whereby players are able to play as the gender that they identify as including non-binary genders.”