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A female disc golfer took a stand and refused to compete against a transgender-identifying opponent, explaining that females in their division “must be protected.”
Abigail Wilson, who was set to compete at the Disc Golf Pro Tour’s (DGPT) MVP Music City Open event in Nashville, Tennessee, was seen walking up as if she were competing. According to Fox News, Wilson then “wound up her toss and flung her arm forward, but didn’t let go of the disc. ”
In a video posted to Instagram, after Wilson turned around to face the crowd, and explained that she was refusing to play.
“Females must be protected in our division,” Wilson said. “This is unfair. I refuse to play.”
“Today, I refused to play at the Music City Open. Females deserve to have their gender protected division be protected,” Wilson wrote in her post. “This is unfair. I have worked so hard to get to this point to play on the DGPT, but the sacrifice of my career and my hard work is worth it if it means I can make a difference for other women, daughters, nieces, and the future of our sport.”
Wilson added that if people “feel how wrong it is to have biological males” competing in women’s “protected divisions in sports, now is the time to speak up.”
“I took this stand today because I was having anxiety about playing with the openly trans player on tour because of the planned protests for this year and the threats of violence at the event last year,” Wilson continued to explain. “After speaking with a member of the DGPT staff yesterday they made it clear they would be unwilling to change me to an earlier tee time when regarding my fears of safety on the course.”
Per Fox News, Wilson’s opponent was Natalie Ryan, who “first garnered attention in September 2022 after winning the women’s division at the Discraft Great Lakes Open.”
The trans competitor who prompted Wilson’s protest, Natalie Ryan, first garnered attention in September 2022 after winning the women’s division at the Discraft Great Lakes Open, and achieving a rank as one of the world’s top five female-classified disc golfers.
In a press release, the DGPT clarified that “no disciplinary action, official or otherwise, is being taken” for Wilson’s protest.
“The DGPT supports the right of all competitors to protest and have their voices heard, and no disciplinary action, official or otherwise, is being taken for yesterday’s protest,” the press release said. “No rules or policies were violated. We encourage players to do what they think is right, and Ms. Wilson is welcome to compete on the same playing field as all other players.”
According to the Professional Disc Golf Association’s (PDGA) policies, transgender athletes “who were assigned male gender at birth and are taking hormone replacement therapy and/or testosterone suppression medication related to gender transition or who have undergone gender affirming surgery” are allowed to compete if they meet certain criteria such as “taking continuous hormone therapy” for at least 24 months “before competing,” and keep their testosterone levels below a certain level.
– News reached out to Wilson for a statement but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
