Women's disc golfer refuses to face transgender competitor, days after fencer kneels in protest

A video of women's disc golfer Abigail Wilson refusing to face a transgender opponent went viral on Friday, prompting praise from women's sports rights activists.

The incident came just days after Fox News Digital reported that women's fencer Stephanie Turner had refused to face a transgender opponent at a competition in Maryland, prompting global awareness and criticism against USA Fencing. 

Wilson's refusal to face the trans athlete came on Friday in Nashville, Tennessee, at the MVP Music City Open, which is an event that is officially sanctioned by the Disc Golf Pro Tour and the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA). When her name was called to step up to compete, she walked up to the tee box, wound up her toss, and flung her arm forward, but didn't let go of the disc. Then she turned around to explain why. 

"Females must be protected in our division!" Wilson yelled to the crowd. "This is unfair. I refuse to play!" 

Wilson then took her belongings and walked away. 

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Later on Friday, she shared the footage of her protest in an Instagram video. 

"Today I refused to play at the Music City Open. Females deserve to have their gender protected division be protected. 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. If you feel how wrong it is to have biological males be competing in female protected divisions in sports, now is the time to speak up and stand your ground," she wrote in the caption.

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"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. 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. 

"They assured me that there would be bag checks, police, and security at the event. Upon arriving this morning there was no security or police presence, I was also allowed entry even though I did not have my credentials. There were zero security precautions."

The DGPT has disputed Wilson's allegations about security. 

Wilson also added that she believes the decision will end her disc golfing career. 

"Today I most likely ended my career and that is okay because this is bigger than me."

The DGPT released a statement addressing Wilson's protest and her claims about security. 

"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. No rules or policies were violated," the statement read. 

"Ahead of this protest, the Tour was asked to move Ms. Wilson to a different tee time because she did not want to compete with another player on her assigned card. One policy that applies to everyone is that the Tour does not accommodate change requests once tee times are published."

The DGPT's statement also insisted that all typical security measures were in place. 

"Security resources were in place for all cards yesterday, including Ms. Wilson’s, and she was informed that playing groups would remain the same," the statement continued. 

"Before the event, the DGPT also responded to Ms. Wilson to address concerns she may have had about security at the event and informed her of the security plan. In addition to private security personnel (off-duty police officers) providing security that morning, a number of additional security staff were assigned to Ms. Wilson’s tee time. This information was shared with Ms. Wilson before the event, and the Tour received no security concerns from her on Friday morning upon her arrival and during interactions with the DGPT’s Director of Safety and Security, Seth Munsey." 

The Professional Disc Golf Association rules state that transgender players who were assigned male at birth are eligible to compete in the women's category after undergoing continuous hormone therapy for at least 24 months and maintaining a certain testosterone level, verified through multiple blood tests. Eligibility can also be achieved through gender-affirming surgery, with the same requirements for testosterone levels post-surgery.

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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.

Ryan identifies as openly transgender, according to the athlete's Instagram page. 

The Music City Open marked Ryan's return to the sport after recovering from "very invasive surgery," the athlete revealed in a post on Thursday. 

At the 2024 Music City Open, the event had to be paused after a terroristic threat, which was targeted at Ryan, the organization released in a statement. 

"A call came into the event site stating there would be a threat of potential violence against a competitor at this weekend’s tournament," a tour statement read. 

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