Quidditch, the sport inspired by Harry Potter, will now be called quadball. The move comes after the sport's governing bodies decided on renaming it due to J.K. Rowling's transphobic stances as well as the name quidditch being trademarked by Warner Bros.
U.S. Quidditch (USQ) and Major League Quidditch (MLQ), two of the sport's governing groups, previously announced in December of last year that they intended to rename the sport because of the reasons above.
"We did not make this name-change lightly," Major League Quidditch said in a statement on Tuesday. "Quadball is the result of thousands of surveyed stakeholders all across the world, hundreds of volunteer hours, tens of discussions with legal teams, and the collaborative efforts of MLQ and USQ. No one person or organization owns the future of quadball, and it was vitally important to us, as well as to USQ, that the entire community would leave its mark on this momentous change."
The group added, "Quadball isn't just a new name, it's a symbol for a future for the sport without limitations. With it, we hope to turn the sport into exactly what it aspires to be: something for all."
When the groups announced their intention to change the name last year, they said the name change will help the sport distance itself from J.K. Rowling's and her anti-trans positions. The groups stated that the sport is known for gender equality and inclusivity. It specifically points to its gender maximum rule, which requires each team to not have more than four players of the same gender on the field at a time.
In addition to USQ and MLQ changing the name, the International Quidditch Association tweeted that it will also be using quadball for the sport.
Rowling has made many anti-trans comments previously, claiming to love trans people but also essentially questioning their existence. She has made statements that were supportive of trans-exclusionary radical feminists, a.k.a. TERFs, and defended a woman who lost her job because of anti-trans rhetoric. She has painted trans rights as somehow in conflict with women's rights, and some conservative politicians have used Rowling's comments to support their transphobic positions.
The sport was first adapted from the Harry Potter book series in 2005 at Middlebury College in Vermont by Xander Manshel and Alex Benepe. More than 450 quidditch teams exist in the world in more than 30 countries.
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