Speaking to the New Statesman in an exclusive interview following his inauguration as Chancellor of Cambridge University, Sir Chris Smith emphasised that we need to “humanise and personalise” the debate surrounding trans students in higher education. However, when pressed about a University stance on the discourse on women’s only spaces, a discourse stoked by organisations like Cambridge University Society for Women (CUSW), he was hesitant to commit to a position; it seems that it is not the University’s “place” to be making such defiant stances.

In the recent developments surrounding the college football league, one can see a similar attitude. Rather than coming to a conclusive position, let alone defending the students of the University, the college league organisers have tried to resolve this issue via the normal 11-a-side Cuppers’ competition and a small sided mixed gender league, limited to 7-a-side.

“A shoddy imitation of the former format of the college football league”

The 7-a-side league is, unquestionably, a shoddy imitation of the former format of the college football league, and bars trans students from pretty much all organised college football. Whilst it gives individuals playing time, rather than suspending this possibility altogether, the university cannot hide behind the fact that this is nowhere near a proper solution. As emphasised by so many of those interviewed by Varsity, and summarised brilliantly by college footballer Izzy Cheetham, “college sport should be a safe and inclusive space where people can come together to enjoy themselves, rather than becoming a site of exclusion or politicisation.” Rather than the university standing up for students, it is placing the burden of responsibility on the players’, and particularly the captains’, shoulders.

Additionally, and unsurprisingly, this whole process has been intensely bureaucratic and ultimately fruitless. Communication has been poor, as if those who run the league were hoping these changes would quietly be accepted by the student body without resistance. Rather than standing up against anti-trans sentiment, their strategy seems to be attempting to mute discourse, or drown it out in a sea of endless votes and committee meetings, most of which treat the subject as an afterthought. As noted by Nim Paz, captain of the University’s men’s side, the “University and its legal team didn’t seem to want to speak to individuals and students” and instead they “set standards and expected us to find a solution within that.” Personally, the biggest surprise for me was when Paz reported that the issue was not even on the formal agenda for the meeting of college captains; rather, it was half-heartedly tacked on at the end. I struggle to see how stuff like scheduling matches, booking pitches, or making sure the game has a referee should have priority over such a difficult and impactful topic for the player base. The captains should have had an opportunity to give this proper air time and to express their feelings about it, rather than it being slid under the carpet by the university.

“Attacked by a very small minority of individuals who stoke this idea into a far more volatile subject than it needs to be”

There is a real argument to say that this is a consequence of pandering to those who shout the loudest, those who ultimately make the biggest fuss but who number in the very few. I don’t think I am being presumptuous in saying that most students want to crack on with playing sport, and we aren’t worried about who is playing, as long as we beat them. As someone who has played college sport for three years, I can tell you first-hand that it does not produce the next wonder-athletes of our generation. Rather, it serves as a space to socialise and improve one’s mental and physical health, an outlet for students during their time at a seriously rigorous institution. This very important aspect of college sport is being attacked by a very small minority of individuals who stoke this idea into a far more volatile subject than it needs to be.

On the national level, there are around thirty trans athletes registered with the Football Association (FA), the governing body of football in Britain, whose own ruling, following the Supreme Court, created this situation. Therefore, despite what the increasing tide of anti-trans sentiment would have you think, there is no reality in which football is being invaded by a tide of trans athletes out to ruin the ‘Beautiful Game’. The numbers simply do not back such outlandish claims.

It is naive to think that sport is not political, and football is particularly intrinsically tied into the social and cultural identity of the UK. It has the potential to bring people together during a time where not much else will, but we are running the risk of subjecting it to the same polarising debates which permeate our political discourses, and which render them intensely toxic.

Whilst Sir Chris Smith stated that whilst the University should champion “the importance of inclusivity and welcome”, he caveated this statement by saying that “it is not up to the University to tell people who are creating this society what they should be doing”. I fundamentally disagree. The University has a social responsibility, as an international stronghold of academic and cultural excellence, to stand their ground. Institutions like the University, the Supreme Court, and the government should not persecute the inclusivity of the many at the behest of the prejudice of the few.