J.K. Rowling's Recent Controversy Forces Quidditch Leagues To Rebrand

"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling has alienated a large part of her fanbase due to her recent remarks, which many have described as transphobic.

Rowling recently took a swing at a new law in Scotland that will record the gender identity of suspects in sexual assault cases and not their sex at birth. Many took offense to Rowling's harsh criticism; among them, "Wonder Woman" Lynda Carter.

“You don’t have to be trans to understand the importance of respecting trans people and affirming their identities,” Carter tweeted. “Life is just too short. I can’t imagine how it makes any sense to use one’s fame and resources to put others down.”

In the wake of Rowling's most recent tweet, two real-life Quidditch organizations felt that they had no choice but to rebrand in order to separate themselves from the ongoing controversy.

Earlier this week, two organizations - US Quidditch and the Major Quidditch League - announced that they want to distance themselves from J.K. Rowling's "anti-trans positions."

In a joint statement, the two organizations declared, “Our sport has developed a reputation as one of the most progressive sports in the world on gender equality and inclusivity, in part thanks to its gender maximum rule, which stipulates that a team may not have more than four players of the same gender on the field at a time.”

"Both organizations feel it is imperative to live up to this reputation in all aspects of their operations and believe this move is a step in that direction," they added.

US Quidditch has decided to completely rebrand themselves. Major League Quidditch, however, will make smaller changes to the brand's website and current style.

US Quidditch, based solely in the United States, contains an average of 150 teams and 3,500 players. Major League Quidditch, located in the United States and Canada, was created in 2015 and contains fifteen franchises.

Although both organizations plan to drop Quidditch from their name, they revealed that they plan to keep their acronyms the same, which means that the new name of the sport will most likely also start with the letter Q.

However, no permanent name has yet been decided. Instead, it seems they're giving the players a chance to voice their opinion before a new name is decided.

"The leagues will conduct a series of surveys over the next few months to guide a decision regarding the new name," they revealed.

The sport of Quidditch is a big part of the "Harry Potter" books and movies. Players ride on broomsticks and try to toss a ball called a Quaffle into a hoop to score ten points while avoiding balls that knock them off their broom called Bludgers. The game only ends when someone catches the Golden Snitch, which is worth 150 points.

Obviously, the real-life Quidditch game needs some modifications to make the sport non-magical. Players run around with broomsticks between their legs and try to score using volleyballs. Players still have to dodge balls, and, in place of a Golden Snitch, players chase a runner dressed in yellow around the field.

Quidditch first became a sport in 2005 at Middlebury College. From there, it has become a recognized sport in 39 countries.

Rowling has yet to respond to the controversy.