'It was about competitive fairness': Stuart McKinnon discusses ban on trans athletes from Women's pro tour on 'Fox & Friends'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Co-host Will Cain was joined by NXXT Golf Tour CEO Stuart McKinnon to discuss the new ban on transgender athletes from the Women's pro tour on the March 10 episode of 'Fox & Friends.'
While the move has sparked outrage in many quarters and has been slammed by trans golfer Hailey Davidson, who won the NXXT Women's Classic back in January, McKinnon believed that it was necessary in the spirit of "competitive fairness."
Well-thought-out decision
McKinnon opened up about reaching the decision, telling Cain, "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."
"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," he continued.
"It really came down to one principle, and that was about competitive fairness. We felt that the biological male had a physiological advantage against the woman on the tour, and we made the decision to change."
Backlash faced by NXXT after Hailey Davidson's January win
When Davidson won the Women's Classic in January, McKinnon claimed that the organization received "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."
As a result, the women's tour had to release a statement that read, "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 current decision, however, is not an impromptu reaction to the backlash, clarified McKinnon.
"I can guarantee this was not a knee-jerk reaction to any outside forces. 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," he stated.
