Golfer Hayley Davidson has criticized the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s (LPGA) decision to ban transgender women from competing in women’s tournaments.
The ban takes effect on New Year’s Day and applies to the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour and “all other elite LPGA events.” The revised policy states that athletes in the girls’ category must either have been female at birth or, if transgender,
“have never experienced male puberty.” Additionally, eligible transgender athletes must “maintain serum testosterone concentrations below 2.5 nmol/l at all times.” Cis women average 0.5-2.4 nmol/l.
Responding to the ban, transgender golfer Davidson wrote on Instagram: “Can’t say I didn’t expect this, banned by EPSON and the LPGA. All this silence and people who want to remain “neutral”, thank you for absolutely nothing. It happened because of your silence. “What a great birthday present for 2024, to have the greatest accomplishment of my life taken away.”
Outgoing LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said, “Our policy reflects a comprehensive, science-based and inclusive approach. [It] represents our ongoing commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome in our organization, while maintaining the fairness and equity of our elite competitions.”
Her predecessor, Mike Whan, told Sportsnet that the new policy is similar to those in other sports such as swimming and track and field.
“It starts with competitive fairness as the North Star,” he said. “We tried not to get into politics or any of that stuff. We simply said, ‘Where is anyone in this field that has a competitive advantage, at least from a medical standpoint today?’ And we had to draw the line.
“We needed to be able to go into an all-women’s event and say with confidence that no one has a competitive advantage based on their gender.” This policy ensures that.”
The change comes after months of controversy over Davidson, a transgender woman who competed in LPGA Qualifying School in October but narrowly missed out on qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open. Her inclusion in the sport prompted nearly 300 female golfers to sign an open letter to the LPGA calling for the repeal of the transgender inclusion policy.
In 2021, Davidson became the first transgender golfer to win a women’s professional tournament, and this isn’t the first time she’s spoken out about the transphobia she’s faced.
The LPGA is the latest sports organization to exclude transgender women from competition, or at least make it extremely difficult for them to participate.
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