Hailey Davidson, a trans athlete, needs to understand that playing golf is an act of integrity and avoid engaging in women’s competition.
The Ladies Professional Golf Association may then follow suit, seize this opportunity to correct their serious error, and revive the reputation of one of the world’s longest-running professional sports organizations for women.
To be clear, I find it difficult to draw these conclusions.
I have a responsibility to voice my opinion in the contentious, evolving debate over transgender identity and women’s sport competition as the 26-year-old world’s greatest athlete, lifelong news and sports commentator, and patriarch of one of the most illustrious families.
After winning the NXXT Women’s Classic next week, 30-year-old Davidson is vying for a spot on the LPGA tour, exploding this contentious issue once more.
Now, far too many people are reluctant to speak up at all for fear of backlash or retribution.
Also, I’m not scared, and I can share so much insight with my humble perspective.
When I participated in the Olympics, my competition was all I could think about. I had the utmost respect for them and, of course, gave my all to beating them on an even playing field.
However, Davidson cannot claim to compete with that same esprit de corps (who requests to be addressed with they/them pronouns).
I’m a trans man who started playing golf in my 50s. I play alongside men and women of all ages as an amateur, non-competitive player. I am certain that there are natural distinctions between men and women that modern medicine cannot change, particularly after men enter male puberty.
And Davidson, who underwent gender reassignment surgery six years after starting the sex change in their early 20s, is more powerful than their competitors.
In response to some of this censure, Davidson asserts that since “transitioning,” their power has significantly decreased.
Davidson posted on Instagram, “It’s ridiculous the amount of misinformed anger I have received so much today. I believe I hit it from 300 or even 280 yards with all of these individuals. On a fine day, how about 250?
Maybe that’s the case. However, Davidson did rank among the top 13 longest-distance LPGA players now with a 250-yard drive.
As a male performer, Davidson has never been more powerful.
I’ve had a number of off-the-record conversations with individuals in the competitive sport industry, including those with the PGA, LPGA, LIV, Aramco, rights groups, and partners.
Their personal comments are remarkably similar.
Davidson was an average adult golfer who never really stood a chance of succeeding in the PGA. However, Davidson is currently vying for one of the most sought-after positions in women’s sports.
How does that treat girls fairly?
Why is it impossible for Davidson to contend against men despite receiving a college scholarship as an athlete?
Some trans athletes in the golfing industry and elsewhere will not say that they would never be selected for that cut, which is a telling response.
Davidson has evolved into an example of what many transgender people and friends fear: a self-centered person who doesn’t consider the repercussions of their actions and might even hurt others.
Finally, I ask the LPGA: Isn’t it time you acknowledged your error?
13 optimistic women who wanted to give female golfers a place to compete and win founded the LPGA in 1950. The PGA tour, which was established about 30 times earlier, had always been accessible to both men and women. However, the Los Angeles Open in 1945 was the only time a woman actually made it to the cut at PGA Tour competition.
Kathy Whitworth didn’t become the first female athlete to make $1 million in career earnings until 1981. On the LPGA tour now, expert female golfers compete for a complete reward of $118 million.
That is a remarkable achievement.
Prior to the second black woman joining the tour in 1963, the LPGA tour was at the forefront of the fight for equal rights and famously rejected a “Caucasian Only” clause.
I think the LPGA’s spirit has been in the right place, much to the benefit of the tour. However, the association erred when it decided to allow trans people who had undergone sexual reassignment surgery to compete by removing the sex assigned “at birth” requirement from their rules in 2010.
The LPGA’s unfortunate choice sent it down a dangerous path. More opportunities are likely to be taken away from women, undermining the LPGA’s mission and giving transgender people a bad reputation.
There isn’t just one person, one organization that governs, or one sport in this.
It’s a straightforward matter of fairness and integrity.
The example may be set in sport.
