Before being known as Danielle Laidley, she was a hugely successful AFL player and played 151 games for West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne football clubs, and winning premierships and going onto be the youngest senior coach ever at 36, coaching North Melbourne for 149 games across seven seasons from 2003 to 2009.
For decades, Danielle kept her gender to herself and threw herself into sporting success and became a workaholic. Eventually the pain of keeping this secret led to some dark coping mechanisms like substance abuse.
In May, 2020, a police officer took a photo of Danielle in an interview room at a St Kilda police station while wearing a wig and make-up. This photo was shared in a group chat before it was leaked to the media & the public.
Now, following her diagnosis with gender dysphoria, Danielle works extensively as an advocate for transgender people, raising awareness in a quest for acceptance of diversity.
In this chat we speak about:
- The different phases of Danielle's life & always knowing who she is
- Growing up in the hyper masculine environments of football and cricket
- How she coped with the public exposure of her transition before she had been able to speak with her family and friends about it
- How the football world has responded to Danielle's transition
- How parents can help support their kids who experience gender dysphoria
- Her beautiful relationship with a woman she's known since grade 1
- Danielle's perspective on transpeople in sport
You can find Danielle's Instagram and book - Don't look away
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