ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the impact of Brexit upon athletes’ sex and gender equality and human rights. As the curtain closes on the UK’s membership with the European Union (EU), attention turns to the aftermath of this separation. Whilst the discussion has centred on the financial and economic factors, equality and human rights for minorities have been to some extent invisible during this divorce. Even less consideration has been made of the impact upon the protection of athletes from sex and gender inequality in sport. An examination of Brexit in this context offers a useful insight into the unique position of athletes’ rights and sheds light on the power struggle that is currently taking place between sport interests and human rights. This chapter will briefly outline the historic context of sex and gender issues in sport, exploring the tensions between inclusion and exclusion in an environment that is driven by the treatment of athletes according to their physical and non-physical differences. The current legal landscape of equality and human rights provisions that seek to protect individuals from sex and gender discrimination will then be mapped out, examining how those rights apply to sport and drawing upon examples of athletes who have asserted their rights in the courts and sought to challenge discriminatory treatment. This chapter will evaluate how equality and human rights for minority groups in the UK might be protected post-Brexit and whether those changes will affect the current restrictive position of athletes seeking to gain protection from equality and human rights legislation when their rights have been threatened.
