A transgender golfer who decided to stop competing against biological women has spoken openly about his decision amid outrage from the LGBTQ+ community.
Nicole Powers competed in several different sports as a trans woman, including tennis, skiing, and golf, before making the decision to never compete against women again.
“I had to take a step back and realize that biological realities are real and that competitive advantages will always exist regardless of how many years or how many surgeries and hormones you have had, and then I realized that my place is not in women’s sports,” Powers said in an interview with pass.
The golfer’s stance runs counter to that of the LGBTQ+ community, which has long argued that trans women are still women and therefore deserve to compete against other women.
After making the decision, Powers revealed that coaches and even other competitors urged them to reconsider and continue playing against female opponents.
Trans golfer Nicole Powers opened up about her decision not to compete against women
“The reaction was almost the same as a lot of these events I compete in,” they continued. “It’s very shocking in the sense of ‘well, no, no, no, you belong here,’ even when I say ‘no, I don’t,’ they keep trying to push the agenda that you’re a trans woman. And we’re going to keep going. defending them in women’s sports.
“Really think about it, you’re a woman and that’s what they say.”
Powers, who has launched a GoFundMe page titled ‘Support Nicole’s mission to save women’s sports’ Hoping to change the narrative surrounding trans women competing in men’s sports, she even admitted that they wouldn’t give 100 percent in competitions because they felt they had an unfair advantage over biological women.
“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 hit a drive out into the fairway from 310 to 315 yards, even though I knew I could.
‘Despite my lifelong or 10+ year transition, I knew I could do that, but instead, maybe I would push myself; I gave up a little bit of the game because I didn’t want to raise those flags,” Powers said.
Trans athletes in women’s sports are a controversial topic, as the San Jose State women’s varsity volleyball team reportedly fielded a transgender player in Blaire Fleming (pictured).
Powers insists that it is unfair for them to compete against women who were born women.
The golfer explained his decision during an interview with Outkick this week
“In the back of my head, during these two years I was playing in professional tournaments, I knew that I wouldn’t feel good if I received prizes (from women).”
The issue of transgender athletes in women’s sports is highly controversial, and boxer Imane Khelif’s participation in the Olympic Games generated a lot of controversy over the summer.
The San Jose State women’s varsity volleyball team is also at the center of a class-action lawsuit after allegedly fielding a transgender player against other teams, and several opponents subsequently pulled out of games against them.
“I don’t know what the governing bodies should do, but they should listen to the athletes,” Powers concluded. ‘Women, adult women, need to listen to these athletes, listen to their weak points and understand that there has to be a change. There has to be a clear line in the sand.
‘And it’s not at all from a position of discrimination. “It is simply from a position of justice, from the original reason why we have women’s sports and men’s sports.”