Recently, transgender disc golfer Natalie Ryan was removed from a women’s tournament when the Disc Golf Pro Tour (DGPT) enforced rules that prevented Ryan from competing in the women’s division. Ryan filed a discrimination lawsuit against the DGPT and the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) in February, arguing that the new rules violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.
A temporary restraining order was issued on Thursday which allowed the transgender athlete to compete among women, but the DGPT appealed the decision and Ryan was subsequently removed from the competition.
Ryan took to Instagram to express his feelings about being removed from the tournament and his intention to continue fighting for his rights. Ryan wrote, “The DGPT and PDGA are afraid of metaphor, so I’ve taken down my previous post. Instead I’m going to make that posts [sic] message incredibly clear. My removal from [the] OTB [Open] was targeted just as the new policy was. The DGPT is now forcing rules that it has no place to. They have only done this to hurt me. I will continue to litigate until justice is achieved. I will use this pain to make sure nobody else has to experience it.”
The PDGA released updated rules in December 2022, which placed restrictions on some transgender participation in the top women’s professional division. The rules mandated that competitors who are trans women must satisfy a series of requirements, including maintaining a testosterone level less than 2.0 nmol/L for two years, down from 10 nmol/L for one year.
The PDGA surveyed its members and found that the majority did not approve of transgender athletes competing against biological women.
Men do not belong in women's sports
Californian court ruling allowing Natalie Ryan, a biological male, to play female disc golf is overturned on a technicality and he is "removed from the tour"#SaveWomensSports #savewomensspaces https://t.co/NaR72Uczvd
— Katherine Deves 🇦🇺🚺 (@deves_katherine) May 15, 2023
It’s an unfair playing field that is robbing women of their hard-earned opportunities and successes. Women should not be made to compete against those with physical advantages and trans athletes should not be excluded from sports because of their gender identity.