Trans basketball player Lexi Rodgers will not be allowed to play in the women's NBL1 competition after a Basketball Australia (BA) panel reviewed the request.
Rodgers, a trans woman, had applied to play in the lower-tier tournament with the Kilsyth Cobras, sparking a backlash and prompting BA to convene a panel to make ruling.
The panel — made up of BA chief medical officer Peter Harcourt, Olympian Suzy Batkovic and sport and exercise physician Diana Robinson — decided Rodgers was ineligible to play.
A BA statement said the "eligibility of prospective elite level transgender athletes" was decided "on a case-by-case basis, accounting for and balancing a range of factors".
"As the governing body, we acknowledge we're still on a path of education and understanding. To aid us in developing our framework, Lexi will provide feedback and advice from her experiences," the statement read.
"The balance of inclusivity, fairness and the competitive nature of sport will always be a complex area to navigate, and we thank those involved who have maintained integrity and respect throughout the process."
Rodgers said she had participated fully and in good faith with the BA process and would keep pushing to play women's basketball.
"Consistent with the views expressed by so many, I firmly believe I have a place as an athlete in women's basketball," she wrote on Instagram.
"I hope Basketball Australia understands that this is not the end of my journey as an athlete and that it must not miss future opportunities to demonstrate its values.
"I am sad about the potential message this decision sends to trans and gender diverse people everywhere.
"I hope that one day basketball's governing body can replicate the inclusion and acceptance I have found on the court with my teammates.
"I hope to one day be playing elite women's basketball in the future and will continue to work on making the sport I love a place for all."
Rodgers spoke last month about her experience since she became the centre of heated debate around the issue of trans women in female sport.
She said she hoped people realised when having the discussion that a human being was in the middle of that debate and they acted with respect and kindness.
"When it's this hypothetical person and people are making a picture of what a transgender athlete looks like in their head; one, I don't think it's me; and two, I think it's a bit harsh, and people just forget that there's actually a person," she said on the Under the Surface podcast with Opal Anneli Maley.
"When I transitioned it went through my head, 'if you do this then you're not gonna be playing sport', and that was tough, but that was the decision I made in my head," she added.
"Every time I'm on the basketball court, every time I'm with the girls, every time I've got anything going to do with playing basketball, it's just a gift.
"I never thought I'd be here. I never thought I'd be playing basketball again."
