Harrison Browne, believed to be the first openly transgender athlete in professional North American team sports, has announced he plans to retire.

In order to transition, Browne, who was born Hailey Browne, will be leaving the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL). His last season, however, ended with a win. His team, the Buffalo Beauts, won the NWHL championship trophy, the Isobel Cup, on Mar. 19.

Browne, originally from Oakville, Ont., came out as transgender during an interview with ESPN after a year of playing in the league as a forward.

Browne’s coming out propelled the NWHL, a fledgling four-team league in only its second season of existence, to take a leading position when it comes to treatment of transgender players.

The NWHL developed a policy with a stated purpose of supporting athletes choosing to express their gender beyond the binary distinction of “female” and “male.”

But the rules do not allow for athletes transitioning from female to male to take testosterone hormone therapy.

In a video posted Mar. 14, Browne said he’s “getting very tired of being seen as a woman in society” and “getting very tired of being misgendered.”

“I do not want to start a job and pursue a career and build in the work force as a woman in this body,” Browne said.

“I’m obviously not a woman.”

Now, he plans to transition physically and begin pursuing jobs related to athletics whether they be in scouting, press relations, or working with sports team agencies.

People should not take his leaving the NWHL as a sign of him quitting, Browne said.

“I don’t want people who are watching this and are younger to say, ‘He had to give up hockey and he’s stopping because he can’t deal with it.’ I did deal with it. I played hockey for 15 years, and I made a huge career out of it,” Browne said. “I milked it for as long as I could.”

And he’s not ruling out professional hockey entirely. Browne emphasized that he is retiring from professional women’s hockey, but not necessarily professional men’s leagues.

“Maybe I will play on the men’s side,” Browne said. “I’m not sure, so I’m not ruling that out, but I’ll take it as it comes.”

One thing he is certain of are his plans to continue advocating for the transgender community.

Browne has already accepted a few speaking engagements at conferences to “advocate for transgender rights,” and he will serve on the NWHL’s Board of Advisors lending his insight on matters of inclusion.

“Harrison is leaving quite a legacy from his two years in our league,” said NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan, in an article on the NWHL website. “He is a pioneer for transgender rights and has been a great hockey player at every level of the game. He is going to be missed, but it’s gratifying to know that Brownie is remaining a part of the NWHL family.”

Chris Mosier, vice-president of program development for You Can Play, an organization working for inclusion in all sports, said many have viewed Browne’s story “as a sign of hope and change in athletics.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“Through coming out, he has started a conversation that was previously not happening in professional team sports,” Mosier said.

“I’m excited for Harrison; while he is moving out of hockey, he has a whole new chapter ahead of him. I know he is really looking forward to what comes next.”

“I’m sorry that you won’t be able to watch me next year,” Browne said in his online video. “But, hopefully, you’ll be watching me on another stage.”