The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) has been forced to drop their new regulations on men who want to participate in women’s competitions after being sued by a trans-identified male player. The lawsuit was launched earlier this year by Natalie Ryan, who had been dominating women’s competitions prior to the PDGA attempting to rein in male competitors.
Ryan first filed a suit against the PDGA in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California this past February. In his complaint, he argued that a recently-adopted PDGA policy prohibiting trans-identified males from competing with women if they had undergone a “male puberty” violated his civil rights and California laws against discrimination.
“The policy adopted by the PDGA and [Disc Golf Pro Tour] is arbitrary and capricious and in violation of Plaintiff’s right to be free from discrimination based on her gender,” the suit said, arguing that policies restricting widespread male participation in women’s sport “denied [Ryan] and other transgender women, who in the eyes of California law are women, full and equal access to the accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, and/or services of [PDGA] organizations.”
Yesterday, a settlement between Ryan and PDGA was announced. While the full terms are not available for public consumption, part of the agreement included PDGA dropping the policy which banned males from competing with women unless they had begun transitioning prior to puberty. This change means that all males who had undergone at least two years of hormone therapy are able to compete with women once again.
In a statement, PDGA revealed that a lack of funds was part of the reason why they were unable to fight against Ryan’s litigation onslaught, with Ryan having filed suits against them in two separate states.
“The PDGA is not financially or logistically in a position to take the lead in multi-state litigation on this topic,” wrote the organization in their statement. “For the first time in recent memory, the PDGA will end the year with a net operating loss, and it is not in the best interest of our members to continue to allocate resources to further litigation.”
The rule revision is set to go into effect on January 1, 2024, and will be in place through at least the end of the 2025 season.
Following the settlement agreement, Ryan boasted of his victory on Instagram.
“All trans women will be equals at the elite level again. This is my victory. I had to be ruthless to get them to listen. I’m glad I can put that side of myself away,” he said.
Ryan has already signed up for a 2024 Tour Card and intends to play at most Disc Golf Pro Tour and Major events.
The now-quashed PDGA policy is widely believed to have been proposed in response to Ryan’s performance in the female category, with the male athlete rapidly rising through the ranks and beating out elite female competitors.
In September of 2022 at the Disc Golf Pro Tour, Ryan easily defeated the world’s number 1 ranked female competitor, Kristin Tattar, taking home $9,000 in prize money. Months prior, at the Great Lakes Open in Milford, Michigan, Ryan walked away with $6,000 for a first-place performance, beating out the world’s current number 2 ranked female player.
Despite having only participated in women’s Disc Golf for a short few years, Ryan is currently ranked amongst the best “female” players in the world. Last year, after topping the Disc Golf Pro Tour, Ryan ranked into the top 5. Despite not participating in some major events this year due to his lawsuit, Ryan still ranks in the top 15.
Last year, two anonymous female disc golf players spoke with Quillette‘s Jon Kay and stated that Ryan’s biological sex was undoubtedly bolstering his success in the sport.
“I would say that one of the biggest advantages of the [male-bodied] players is their ability to scramble in tight situations when a disc goes off the fairway, to just stand there and blast a shot through the woods,” one of the women said. “I’ve seen both [trans player] Chloe [Alice] and Natalie [Ryan] do this. They’re just standing still and throw the kind of [forehand shot] that I’ve never seen a female throw even under perfect conditions.”
The other female player added: “What makes it worse is that Ryan’s form isn’t even that good. If it were, [he’d] be out-throwing us by even more. So while the rest of us spend years refining our form, trying to keep up and get more distance, [he’s] been in the sport only—what?—three years or something.”
Another female disc golf player, Jennifer Castro, revealed that she was aware of female athletes refusing to join tournaments where transgender players were enrolled due to the stark performance advantage.
“I personally know of women who refuse to sign up for events if a transgender is playing, not because we hate them but because we feel we have zero chance, so what is the point of wasting our money on registration fees?”
Speaking to Reduxx, Marshi Smith of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) condemned the PDGA and DGPT for buckling under pressure.
“Rest assured the DGPT has not seen their last courtroom. We will fight back on this. Men like Ryan cannot threaten sports bodies with financial ruin so they capitulate to misogynistic entitled demands tossing women aside,” Smith said.
ICONS had previously thrown their support behind protecting women’s disc golf, and the organization had held an emergency press conference following the initial news of Ryan’s lawsuits last year.
A number of female disc golfers participated in the Save Female Disc Golf campaign, slamming a Minnesota court judge who ordered PDGA to allow Ryan to participate in a tournament he had been barred from.
“Organizations must have a backbone and stand on fairness and integrity for their athletes – women included,” Smith added, revealing that ICONS has now launched a fund with the intention of supporting female athletes who wish to challenge male-inclusive policies in court.
“Men like Ryan have the backing of activist pro bono lawyers but we are building our own war chest for female athletes now. We refuse to surrender the hard-earned achievements of women and are prepared to stand firm.”
Reduxx is your source of pro-woman, pro-child safeguarding news and commentary. We’re 100% independent! Support our mission by joining our Patreon, or consider making a one-time donation.
