Transphobic billionaire author J.K. Rowling is attacking yet another cisgender African female athlete for not being feminine enough. This time, Rowlings target is Barbra Banda, a 24-year-old Zambian professionalsoccer playerwho plays on theNational Womens Soccer Leagues(NWSL) Orlando Pride team andserves as the captain forZambias national team.After the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) recently awarded Banda the honor of Womens Footballer of the Year, Rowling wrote on X, Presumably the BBC decided this was more time efficient than going door to door to spit directly in womens faces. Rowling wrote this amid allegations that Banda had levels of testosterone that got her banned from competing in the 2018 and 2022 Womens Africa Cup of Nations. Related JK Rowling declares that her religion is now transphobia The author went public in a tweet with what she told the census. Banda was reportedly found to have naturally occurring elevated levels of testosterone, exceeding the permissible level set by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), according to iNews, which wrote, The nature of the gender eligibility test she has taken is unclear. Global perspectives delivered right to your inbox Our newsletter bridges borders to bring you LGBTQ+ news from around the world. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The CAF allegedly blamed the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) for Bandas exclusion, and vice-versa, the aforementioned news outlet reported. The BBC reported that Banda took hormone suppression medication to reduce her testosterone levels, but these did not decrease sufficiently, and Zambia pulled her from the tournament.Despite this, the Banda has been declared eligible to play soccer in transcontinental and professional matches by both FIFA (the international body governing professional soccer) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Banda has competed at a World Cup and two Olympic Games, as well as in domestic leagues across four continents, iNews noted.Even if Banda has elevated testosterone levels, that doesnt mean that shes transgender or intersex. Presumably the BBC decided this was more time efficient than going door to door to spit directly in women's faces. https://t.co/JGGdIVxYNB J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 26, 2024The feminist website The Mary Sue noted that another X commenter pointed out that the current BBC Director of Sport is an out gay man named Alex Kay-Jelski who had his children via surrogate. Rowling wrote in response to this, Yep, femaleness is just post-modern performance art until they need an incubator.Executive director of the NWSL Players Association, Meghann Burke, defended Banda, writing, The lowest form of discourse is personal insult cloaked with racism and lies, on X no less. Barbra Banda is a proud member of @nwsl_players. She is the best of us. Just so were clear, @jk_rowling: you come for her, you come for all of us. Me first. Lets go.Out womens soccer champion Megan Rapinoe also defended Banda on Instagram, writing, Were with her. The Orlando Pride wrote of Bandas BBC award, We are incredibly proud that Barbra has been voted as the BBC Womens Footballer of the Year, one of many outstanding achievements she has accomplished during this historic 2024 season Barbra is an incredible role model and advocate for soccer in Africa, and we have seen firsthand the influence that her achievements and philanthropy have had on young girls in Zambia, as well as the instant impact she has made on Orlandos soccer community. We are proud to have Barbra Banda as a member of the Orlando Pride pic.twitter.com/GLg5vRYe3c Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) November 27, 2024This isnt the first time Rowling has publicly harassed an African athlete for not being feminine enough for her tastes. During the 2024 Olympic Summer Games, Rowling falsely claimed that Algerian gold medalist boxer Imane Khelifis transgender. Khelif is not transgender, but she is now suing Rowling for making false statements about her, resulting in a wave of cyberbullying and threats.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.