Kirralie Smith, a women's rights advocate and spokeswoman for Binary Australia, has been ordered to pay $95,000 — fifty-five thousand to one plaintiff, forty thousand to the other — for referring to two biological males competing in women's football as "men" on social media.
The crime, according to the New South Wales Supreme Court, is that she used her eyes.
Justice Belinda Rigg handed down the ruling on July 24, upholding a lower tribunal's finding that Smith engaged in "unlawful vilification" under Section 38S of New South Wales' Anti-Discrimination Act. The two plaintiffs — biological males playing in women's football leagues under the names Riley Dennis and Stephanie Blanch — filed complaints after Smith posted about their participation on X and Facebook between January and March of 2023. Smith had roughly 47,000 followers on her Facebook page at the time.
Smith didn't threaten anyone. She didn't incite violence. She posted things like, "The bloke in a frock can play either in the men's competition or a mixed competition, there is absolutely no need for him to play in a women's division." She also asked, "How can girls, women, and families feel safe when they are not even permitted to question the presence of a man in their space or on the field?"
For that, the court ordered her to pay $55,000 to Nicholas Blanch and $40,000 to Justin Dennis. She was also ordered to publish a court-drafted apology pinned to the top of all her social media profiles and website for three months. If she doesn't comply with the apology, she faces an additional $40,000 penalty — bringing the potential total to $135,000.
The court also granted an Apprehended Violence Order — Australia's version of a restraining order — against Smith on behalf of Blanch. For posting her feelings on a controversial subject on social media.
Here's some context the court didn't seem particularly interested in. One of the plaintiffs, Dennis, was involved in a tackle on May 21, 2023 that injured a female player during a match at Majors Bay Reserve. The Flying Bats, the team both biological males played for — which describes itself as "the biggest LGBTQIA+ women's non-binary football club in the world" — went undefeated in 2024, winning all 17 games, scoring 76 goals while opponents managed just 8.
Seventy-six to eight. In women's football. With biological males on the roster.
Smith responded to the ruling by saying, "It is disappointing that the word 'woman' has been redefined to include males. Males should never be permitted to participate in female sport."
The legal advocacy groups raising "free speech" concerns aren't wrong, but they're underselling the problem. This isn't a speech case dressed up in anti-discrimination language. It's a compelled-reality case. The state of New South Wales has established, through its courts, that calling a biological male a man is an act of vilification punishable by law. That's not regulating behavior. That's regulating perception.
Smith has 28 days to appeal the Supreme Court ruling to the High Court of Australia. This marks the first time someone has been found guilty of unlawful vilification for misgendering under New South Wales law. Football New South Wales, led by CEO John Tsatsimas, introduced a Gender Diversity Policy in 2023 that made all of this possible — letting biological males compete in women's leagues and then legally punishing anyone who pointed it out.
When the legal system punishes women for protecting women's spaces, the word "protection" has been reassigned too.
