Transgender Golfer Wins Mini-Tour Event and the Hate Followed

I was scrolling through Facebook a few days back when I came upon an article from Golfweek about the most recent winner of the National Women’s Golf Association event in Florida.

Now for those who don’t know, the NWGA events have attracted solid talent to play in its ranks, including recent LPGA stars like Paula Creamer and Perrine Delacour. But why would Golfweek write an article about a mini tour winner who is a veritable nobody?

Because this mini tour event bestowed its trophy to Hailey Davidson. 

Hailey Davidson is a transgender athlete.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Hailey Davidson (@haileydgolf)

First, I decided to read the article and get some backstory on the winner. And then, sadly, I decided to read the comments. 

Honestly, I had to shake the words off because social media comment writers did what social media comment writers do best: scorn, shaming, bigotry, sexism, and a year’s worth of vitriol.

My question is simple: why?

Why the hell do people on the internet feel it necessary to belittle, besmirch, and blast people who are different than they are like this? It’s no different than attacking someone for things they cannot control, such as their race, and it’s a completely abhorrent and idiotic waste of keystrokes because their fragile psyche needs it to feel better about themselves. Newsflash: you’re kidding yourself.

Yes, Hailey Davidson is transgender.

Yes, Hailey Davidson won a women’s mini tour event. 

No, she’s not just some guy who’d rather play from the forward tees and decided on a whim to dress in women’s clothing and compete for a win. 

That, by the way, was an amalgamation of some of the tamer comments I read. Sweet Jesus.

Hailey has been on a hormone replacement regimen for over six years and recently underwent gender reassignment surgery to complete her transition. And unlike getting a barbed wire bicep tattoo while drunk on spring break, hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery is a major deal with many potential issues and a tremendous recovery required.

Hailey’s win comes amidst a new, and to me, disturbing trend in the United States (and even globally) to shame athletes who are transgender. Recent actions have really bubbled this movement over the top of the societal pasta pot: states banning transgender athletes from participating in competitions to which they now identify.

However, I really should rewrite that last line because it’s not the worry of many of these state governments to crack down on women who’ve transitioned and seek to play in men’s competitions. It’s the reverse: men who transition being a threat to damaging women’s sports, and it’s not for anything more than one ridiculous reason: the continued belief that women can never compete at the same level as men. 

That, my friends, is a grade A cow manure excuse disguised as wanton sexism. This isn’t protecting women, it’s calling them weak.

Let me put a recent spin when it comes to enhanced abilities: the steroids era of baseball. Yes, we had McGwire, Canseco, Bonds, Sosa, and Palmeiro in the game. But we also had countless numbers of other ball players who couldn’t hit Mr. Rawlings if the hurled orb was the size of a beach ball. The reason for that is it doesn’t matter if you “juice” your body up to levels that would make an elephant scream, “Damn.” Talent, skill, and drive are never, ever made up for in an injection.

Also, the Golfweek article claims Davidson has lost 9 mph off her swing speed and 30 yards or more off the tee since beginning hormonal replacement therapy. Hailey also lost a significant amount of weight to even qualify for gender reassignment surgery and decided not to weight train so as to avoid adding additional muscle mass. She believes her “male” advantage has all but vanished.

Davidson would like to enter Q-school for the LPGA tour this August and is actively fundraising to afford the opportunity. 

But are Hailey’s desires legal under the law of the LPGA Tour or even the USGA? Yup, and yup.

According to LPGA rules, there is no longer a requirement that a participant must be “female at birth” in order to play. The USGA also has new rules that state transgender athletes no longer need to wait out a two year period between gender reassignment surgery and competition. So long as the surgery has been completed, the athlete can participate at a USGA level.

As the late Stuart Scott of ESPN would often say, “Don’t hate the player. Hate the game.”

Now I write this opinion piece with the truth in knowing I know very little about transgender issues. I also write this opinion piece knowing one of my colleagues came out as transgender to our coworkers and me just two weeks ago. So it’s my job to learn and to be supportive.

Maybe we all should be learning, being supportive, and helping one another more instead of denigrating or demonizing those like Hailey Davidson because they’re just like you and me: they’re people, too.

Good luck, Hailey. Forget the haters. Follow your dreams.

Cover Image via Instagram