‘Ensuring fair competition’: Women's pro golf tour to only allow females to play
A women’s professional golf tour has announced updates to its policy on eligibility so that only females will be allowed to play in the competition, thus prohibiting men who identify as transgender.
The NXXT Women’s Pro Tour announced on Friday, which was also International Women’s Day, that they were immediately revising eligibility requirements so that “competitors must be a biological female at birth to participate.”
“This decision underscores the organization’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of women's professional golf and ensuring fair competition,” stated NXXT. “This policy update is the result of comprehensive research, thoughtful deliberation, and extensive consultations with a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the sports community.”
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The announcement quoted NXXT GOLF CEO Stuart McKinnon, who stated, “it is crucial to uphold the competitive integrity that is the cornerstone of women’s sports.”
“Our revised policy is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to celebrating and protecting the achievements and opportunities of female athletes,” McKinnon said. “Protected categories are a fundamental aspect of sports at all levels, and it is essential for our Tour to uphold these categories for biological females, ensuring a level playing field.”
The move came after golfer Hailey Davison, a man who identifies as female, won the NXXT Women’s Classic in January, prompting controversy.
In response to the new policy, Davison released a statement claiming that the decision bans him from three competitions that he had already signed up for and that the change was a "slap in the face to all female athletes."
“Do people not understand how good LPGA players are and how far they hit it? As a player, if you are upset at me getting to play with my distance (245 yards) then you will never make it to the LPGA Tour where they are that much better and longer than me,” said Davison, as quoted by Golf Monthly.
“You can scream at me, threaten me, throw insults at me and even ban me but I will always get back up and keep fighting till the very end. Hate and bigotry will never win.”
In recent years, there has been considerable debate over whether men who identify as female should be allowed to compete in women's athletic competitions.
Supporters have argued that it's a matter of equality and inclusiveness, while critics have charged that trans-identified individuals retain certain unfair biological advantages even after taking of synthetic cross-sex hormones.
According to a Gallup poll released in June of last year, 69% of Americans believe trans-identified athletes should compete only against athletes of the same biological sex, while 26% disagreed.
