Harry Potter Quidditch League Plans Name Change Amid JK Rowling Backlash

Harry Potter Quidditch League Plans Name Change Amid JK Rowling Backlash

As the backlash against Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling grows, Major League Quidditch and US Quidditch seek a name change to shift away from her.

You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]

Harry Potter Quidditch League Plans Name Change Amid JK Rowling Backlash

Major League Quidditch, created from the popular Harry Potter sport, is aiming to change its name in a bid to seek legitimacy and to distance itself from controversial author J.K. Rowling. On the surface, the Harry Potter franchise is thriving right now. The Wizarding World is gearing up for the release of its third Fantastic Beasts movie, The Secrets of Dumbledore, and recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. To honor the latter, HBO Max will release a special on New Year’s Day that reunites several members of the Potter cast, including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson.

Outside of all that, though, Harry Potter is a dicey topic. Rowling has courted controversy in recent years, particularly from summer 2020 on. Rowling has adopted a very public stance against trans rights, arguing that things like gender neutral bathrooms would be harmful to cisgender women. As a result, Rowling has been deemed transphobic by a number of activists and allies; most recently, the conversation surrounding Rowling’s anti-trans nature was stirred up again by another controversial tweet she posted around the same time as the release of the Secrets of Dumbledore trailer.

The fictional sport of Quidditch made the jump to real life through the efforts of students at Middlebury College in 2005, who helped spread the sport to other college campuses around the world. Now, Major League Quidditch and US Quidditch seek to change their names to avoid copyright issues as they move to a new stage of legitimacy. Additionally, they aims to separate themselves from Rowling, as they pride themselves on pushing for progressive values. To do this, they want to remove the name “Quidditch,” which is trademarked by WB. US Quidditch Executive Director Mary Kimball said in a statement:

See also  KUWTK Kim Reportedly ‘Excited To See What Happens’ With Pete Davidson

“I believe quidditch is at a turning point. We can continue the status quo and stay relatively small, or we can make big moves and really propel this sport forward into its next phase. Renaming the sport opens up so many more revenue opportunities for both organizations, which is crucial to expansion. Through joint ownership of this new trademark, USQ and MLQ will be able to pursue sponsorships, broadcasting on major TV networks and other projects that’ll address some of the biggest barriers to playing the sport, like access to equipment.”

In regards to the Rowling aspect, US Quidditch’s official statement reads:

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.

A number of high-profile Wizarding World stars have spoken out against Rowling since last year, including Radcliffe, Watson, and Fantastic Beasts star Katherine Waterston. Waterston’s limited presence in the Secrets of Dumbledore has sparked rumors that her public stand against Rowling has led to a diminished role for her character Tina Goldstein. For its part, WB has continued to pursue a number of Harry Potter projects, seemingly ignoring the backlash. However, Rowling isn’t a part of the Harry Potter reunion, save for archival footage.

See also  How KOTORs Story Is Extended In Star Wars The Old Republic

The decision to change the Quidditch League’s name in an effort to move away from Rowling is admirable, though one has to wonder how successful said effort will be. Even without the name attached, Quidditch is tied to Harry Potter in ways that cannot be erased. Furthermore, it remains to be seen if this is even possible legally. Fans of the sport will likely be eager to see how this situation turns out; expect more updates in the future.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/harry-potter-rowling-backlash-quidditch-league-name-change/

Movies -