Women's pro golf tour defends trans athlete ban, emphasizes need for 'competitive fairness' in women's sports

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NXXT women’s pro golf tour bans trans athletes for ‘competitive fairness’: Stuart McKinnon

NXXT CEO Stuart McKinnon joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to explain the decision, saying they knew it would be ‘polarizing.’

NXXT Golf Tour CEO Stuart McKinnon responded to backlash surrounding his decision to ban transgender athletes from the Women's pro tour, arguing the move ultimately came down to ensuring female athletes a right to "competitive fairness" on the course. 

The decision to ban biological males from competing in the women's league sparked outrage from transgender golfer Hailey Davidson, who won the NXXT Women's Classic back in January. McKinnon addressed the controversial decision and how it was made during "Fox & Friends Weekend."

"We didn't make this decision lightly. We knew it was a polarizing topic and would evoke a lot of emotions from people out there," McKinnon told co-host Will Cain on Sunday. "We took a lot of time in educating ourselves, spoke to many stakeholders in the golfing community and the sporting community at large from coaches and players and doctors and scientists, and educated ourselves."

"It really came down to one principle, and that was about competitive fairness," he continued. "We felt that the biological male had a physiological advantage against the woman on the tour, and we made the decision to change."

WOMEN'S PRO GOLF TOUR UPDATES POLICY TO ONLY ALLOW BIOLOGICAL FEMALES, BANNING TRANS GOLFER HAILEY DAVIDSON

Davidson sounded off on the ban on Instagram, writing, "You know what really bugs me is that people think I win just by showing up. This is such a slap in the face to ALL female athletes being told that any male can transition and beat them regardless of the life of hard work those women put in… You think your (sic) attacking me but your actually attacking and putting doen [sic] ALL other female athletes."

Hailey Davidson competes in the NXXT Women's Championship golf tournament at Rio Pinar, in Orlando, Florida, Wednesday, January 24, 2024. Davidson is a transgender golfer facing criticism from those who claim she is destroying golf. (Fox News Digital)

McKinnon said the decision, which was made on International Women's Day on Friday, was made after players were consulted on the matter. He said the "overwhelming feedback" was that the female athletes preferred to compete against biological women only. 

"I'm a father of five daughters," McKinnon said. "Growing up in the sports, there was categories… and some is based on sex, and so this is really about protecting that category. In addition, we listened to the players on the tour. We conducted an anonymous player pool and overwhelming feedback came back that they wanted us to change our gender policy guidelines."

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"When Hailey Davidson did win, what it did was it brought out more feedback from our players on tour, telling us that they would not play anymore and telling us that other players that they knew of weren't playing on the tour because of our gender policy guidelines," he continued. 

After massive backlash, the women's tour released a statement to clarify its decision. 

LPGA tee markers are seen during the final round of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament at LPGA International on December 4, 2005, in Daytona Beach, Florida.   (Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

"The NXXT Women’s Pro Tour’s policies, especially concerning gender, have been formulated in alignment with those of the LPGA and USGA. This approach is crucial in maintaining the integrity of our partnership with the LPGA and ensuring a fair and consistent competitive environment. When Hailey Davidson joined the tour, she complied with these policies by providing necessary documentation, including validation from the LPGA and USGA, which also facilitated her participation in the 2022 Q-School," the statement said.

Despite the fallout, McKinnon argued the decision was anything but "knee-jerk" and based on his own education on the subject. 

"I can guarantee this was not a knee-jerk reaction to any outside forces," McKinnon said. "I just bought this tour a year ago, and Davidson provided us with a letter of eligibility from the LPGA and from the USGA, and it took some time to educate myself… on the process that they followed and took some time for myself to learn about this."

Fox News' Paulina Dedaj and Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.