Quidditch No More: Fantastical Sport Rebrands Name To Cut Ties With J.K. Rowling

U.S. Quidditch first hinted at the rebranding in late 2021.

By Christian Arriaga-Flores

Published on 7/20/2022 at 12:14 PM

A woman plays quidditch, a sport inspired by the "Harry Potter" books, in Nantes, western France, on February 12, 2022. Credit: Getty Images
A woman plays quidditch, a sport inspired by the "Harry Potter" books, in Nantes, western France, on February 12, 2022. Credit: Getty Images

The real-life sport of Quidditch, which was inspired by the Harry Potter franchise, has officially changed its name to Quadball.

The governing bodies of the sport, the U.S. Quidditch and Major League Quidditch, are behind the name change, and will now be known as U.S. Quadball and Major League Quadball.

The decision to rebrand the name and league is an effort to distance itself from author J.K. Rowling, who has been widely criticized by her fans and LGBTQ+ advocates for her anti-trans remarks in recent years.


 

U.S. Quidditch first hinted at the rebranding in late 2021, saying that the “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.”