Quidditch is to undergo a major rebranding in America, including a change of name, following Harry Potter author JK Rowling’s anti-trans stance.
The governing body of the sport, which is taken from the hugely popular wizarding books, has released a statement on the rebrand as the result of the author’s ongoing comments against trans people.
“The leagues are hoping a name change can help them continue to distance themselves from the works of JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter book series, who has increasingly come under scrutiny for her anti-trans positions in recent years,” said the statement as first reported by The Times.
It continued; “Our sport has developed a reputation as one of the most progressive sports in the world on gender equality and inclusivity, in part thanks to its gender maximum rule, which stipulates that a team may not have more than four players of the same gender on the field at a time.”
The controversy surrounding the author first began in 2020, when Rowling was criticised for a series of “anti-trans” tweets after she called out an article’s use of the phrase “people who menstruate”.
She then released an essay to defend comments that led to her being accused of transphobia, and to explain why she felt the need to voice her opinions.
Several prolific Potter stars spoke out against the author, including Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson.
A survey has been linked to in the Quidditch league’s statement that suggests alternative names for the sport, including Quadball, Quadraball, Quidstrike, Quidball and Quicker.