The Buzz Disc Golf Network Hub is proud to announce a much deserved donation towards Abigail Wilson, and her tribute towards her love for disc golf. Please check out Abigail’s new website @ https://abigailwilsondiscgolf.com/
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I most likely ended my career and that is okay because this is bigger than me,’ she said
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.
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.
“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.
A player tosses his disc during the 6th Annual Denver Classic Disc Golf Tournament, Saturday, at the Badlands course in Federal Heights. (RJ Sangosti/ The Denver Post (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images.)
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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Disc golfer refuses to compete against transgender opponent, walks out of competition: ‘Females must be protected’
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.
Later on Friday, she shared the footage of her protest in an Instagram video.
The incident came just days after Fox News Digital reported that women’s fencer Stephanie Turner had refused to face a transgender opponent.abiygritte, /Instagram “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.
“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.
Wilson’s refusal to face the trans athlete came on Friday in Nashville, Tennessee, at the MVP Music City Open.natalieryan114560/Instagram “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 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.
Wilson added that she believes the decision will end her disc golfing career.abiygritte, /Instagram “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.natalieryan114560/Instagram 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.
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.
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Abbie Wilson takes a stand for her division against transgender sports supported by the PDGA
At the Music City Open in Nashville, disc golfer Abbie Wilson walked off the course to protest a transgender woman competing in the women’s division. Her act went viral—but it also overlooked the clear eligibility rules laid out by the PDGA. This article unpacks the facts, the fallout, and what it means for transgender athletes fighting for their rightful place in competitive sports.
On Friday during the Music City Open in Nashville, disc golfer Abbie Wilson walked off the course in protest, refusing to compete against a transgender woman who was playing in the women’s division. In a video widely shared on social media, Wilson declared, “Females must be protected in our division; this is unfair. I refuse to play.”
Her actions were quickly amplified by conservative media outlets and anti-transgender influencers who lauded her as standing up for “fairness” in women’s sports. But as the discourse exploded online, a critical fact has gone largely overlooked: there has been no official confirmation that a transgender woman was actually participating in the event.
However, amid the wave of social media outrage, a key point was largely ignored: both Wilson and many of her supporters appear to have overlooked the Professional Disc Golf Association’s (PDGA) clear and public policy on gender-based division eligibility.
According to the PDGA’s official Gender-Based Division Eligibility Policy, transgender women are permitted to compete in the women’s division if they meet specific medical and legal criteria. These include:
- Legal documentation confirming their gender,
- At least 12 months of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to align testosterone levels with those typically observed in cisgender women,
- Adherence to therapeutic use exemption (TUE) processes when applicable.
These policies are consistent with guidelines adopted across many professional sports and are designed to balance inclusion with competitive integrity. Any transgender woman competing in the PDGA’s Female Protected divisions must have followed these rules to be eligible.
Despite these regulations being publicly available on the PDGA website, online discourse surrounding the event largely ignored them. Many of Wilson’s supporters misgendered the player in question and repeated misinformation suggesting that any man could simply “identify” as a woman to compete—a claim directly contradicted by PDGA policy.
The event has reignited national debate around transgender athletes in sports, particularly women’s divisions, and has become another flashpoint in the ongoing cultural and political battles over gender identity and inclusion. For transgender athletes and their supporters, it’s another example of how public perception often disregards established rules and the lived realities of trans competitors.
As of now, the PDGA has not released a formal statement on the incident. There is also no indication that Wilson reviewed or acknowledged the league’s policy before walking off the course.
For transgender individuals, their families, and allies, this moment is a reminder that while conversations about fairness in sports are valid, they must be grounded in facts—not fear or misinformation. Trans athletes who meet eligibility criteria should be treated with the same respect afforded to any other competitor.
At TransVitae, we will continue reporting on these issues with clarity, empathy, and an unwavering commitment to truth—because trans lives and voices belong on every field, every stage, and yes, every course.
Source: https://www.transvitae.com/abbie-wilson-protests-transgender-inclusion-at-disc-golf-event/
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New addition to the Buzz online Community
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