Netball star apologises for anti-trans commentary

Chastened after being spoken to by her Super Netball club, Samantha Wallace-Joseph has apologised for anti-trans rhetoric published on social media over the weekend.

Wallace-Joseph came under fire after reposting an Instagram tile of Joe Biden highlighting March 31 - Easter Sunday - as International Transgender Day Of Visibility.

"The disrespect is crazy. Don’t play with GOD," Wallace-Joseph wrote over the slide in a story that has since been deleted.

Following a meeting with NSW Swifts representatives on Tuesday, Wallace-Joseph apologised in a joint statement with the club.

"It was not my intention to upset and disrespect anybody and whilst I feel my post was taken out of context, I didn’t say what I meant clearly," she said.

“I did not wish to cause any offence to members of the trans-gender community and it is clear that I have and for that I am sorry."

NSW Swifts executive general manager Kath Tetley said in the same statement that the club was committed to being a safe and inclusive space for all.

"We are also committed to the ongoing education required to ensure there is a common understanding among all of the cultures and communities that make up the Swifts,” Ms Tetley said.

International Transgender Day Of Visibility has been celebrated on March 31 since 2009, whereas the date of Easter Sunday is determined using an astronomical calculation and changes each year.

The Swifts earlier released a statement saying Wallace-Joseph's social media activity had "caused understandable hurt to members of the transgender community" and the club did not share her views.

The 30-year-old has played with the Swifts since 2017 after moving from Trinidad and Tobago.

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