Trans golfer opens up on decision to stop competing against females

A transgender golfer who chose to stop competing against biological females has opened up on their decision amid outrage from the LGBTQ+ community.

Nicole Powers competed in a number of different sports as a trans woman, including tennis and skiing as well as golf, before making the decision to never compete against females ever again.

'I had to take a step back and realize that biological realities are real and competitive advantages will always exist despite the number of years or whatever surgeries and hormones you've done, and then understood that my place is not in women's sports,' Powers said in an interview with Outkick.

The golf player's stance goes against that of the LGBTQ+ community, which has long argued that trans women are still women and therefore deserve to compete against fellow females.

After making the decision, Powers revealed that coaches and even other competitors urged them to reconsider and continue playing against female opponents.

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'The reaction was almost the same as at a lot of these events that I'm competing in,' they continued. 'It's very shocked in the sense of "well no, no, no, you belong here," even with me saying "no I don’t," they still are continuing to try and force the agenda that you're a trans woman and we're going to continue championing you in women's sports. 

'Really have a think about this, you're a woman, and that's what they're saying.'

Powers, who has launched a GoFundMe page titled 'Support Nicole's mission to save women's sports' in the hope of changing the narrative surrounding trans women competing in male sports, even admitted they wouldn't give 100 percent in competitions given it felt like they had an unfair advantage over biological females.

'I didn't want to raise any flags,' Powers added. 'So if I'm standing on the tee box with three other women, I'm not going to just bomb a drive out on the fairway 310, 315 yards, even though I knew I could. 

'Despite my lifelong transition or transition for 10-plus years, I knew that I could do that, but instead, I would maybe club down; lay off a little bit on my game, because I didn't want to raise those flags," Powers said.

'In the back of my head this entire couple years, I was playing in professional tournaments, I knew I wouldn't feel right if I did take awards [from women].'

The topic of transgender athletes in women's sports is a highly contentious one, with female boxer Imane Khelif's participation at the Olympic Games sparking heavy controversy over the summer.

San Jose State's women's college volleyball team is also at the center of a class-action lawsuit after allegedly fielding a transgender player against other teams, with multiple opponents subsequently pulling out of games against them.

'I don't know what the governing bodies need to do, but they need to listen to woman athletes,' Powers concluded. 'Women, adult human females, they need to listen to those athletes, listen to their pain points and understand that there has to be a change. There has to be a clear line in the sand. 

'And it's not from a position of discrimination at all. It's just from a position of fairness, from the original reason why we (have) women's sports and men's sports.'