Rutgers women's rugby team rebrands to 'Rutgers Womxn’s Rugby’

The Rutgers women’s rugby team has changed its name in an effort to reflect the team’s “commitment” to be inclusive, with the team now being called Rutgers Womxn’s Rugby. This comes after a number of rugby teams across the country ditched the women’s category in favor of a newly created “open” category so men can play on their women’s teams.

The social media post, made on September 24, read, “Important Announcement: We're excited to announce that Rutgers Women's Rugby will be making the change to Rutgers Womxn's Rugby!”

“This change reflects our team's commitment to creating a welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment for our players,” the post continued. “Inclusivity is an important part of who we are, and we want every member of our team to feel valued and represented through our organization. We are continuously evolving and want to properly reflect the standards of inclusion. We're proud to continue building a rugby community where everyone belongs.”

The post appears to have been deleted from the team’s Instagram post, however, their account name still reads “Rutgers Womxn’s Rugby.” The team’s bio includes both a gay pride flag as well as the transgender flag. Rugby is a club sport on Rutgers’ campus, rather than an NCAA varsity sport.

Earlier in the year, USA Rugby, the governing body for rugby in the US, established an “open” category in order to comply with an executive order from Trump. In the wake of the new category, a number of rugby teams across the US ditched the women’s category in favor of the open one.

The Charlotte Royals said, “The Charlotte Royals believe that trans women are women. Banning trans players hurts everyone in the sport and the larger community. We will be using the Open Division for any sanctioned matches we engage in, and encourage other clubs/unions to do the same.”

The Boston Ironsides wrote, “We believe that rugby is for everyone, regardless of gender identity. This policy unfairly targets trans members of our community and goes against everything that we stand for." The Spokane Phoenix club wrote, "Rugby should be for everyone. Spokane Phoenix stands with our trans teammates and community. Trans players belong in rugby."