
Watch: Women's disc golfer refuses to play against trans opponent
A women's disc golfer has walked off the course in protest at being forced to play a transgender opponent.
In the latest such move by a female sportsperson, Abigail Wilson pretended to take her opening shot in a match against Natalie Ryan before turning around and shouting: 'Females must be protected in our division. This is unfair. I refuse to play.'
Wilson then walked off the tee and gathered her belongings before leaving her event, triggering applause by watching fans.
Her protest, at the Music City Open in Tennessee on Friday, came days after a female fencer was disqualified from a tournament for refusing to compete against a trans opponent and taking a knee in protest.
That was almost a year and a half after a women's pool tournament witnessed a similar walkout.
Wilson posted footage of her own stand to Instagram, writing: 'Today I most likely ended my career and that is okay because this is bigger than me.'
Explaining her decision, she wrote: 'Today I refused to play at the Music City Open. Females deserve to have their gender protected division be protected. This is unfair.
'I have worked so hard to get to this point to play on the DGPT, but the sacrifice of my career and my hard work is worth it if it means I can make a difference for other women, daughters, nieces, and the future of our sport.
'If you feel how wrong it is to have biological males be competing in female protected divisions in sports, now is the time to speak up and stand your ground.'
She continued: 'I took this stand today because I was having anxiety about playing with the openly trans player on tour because of the planned protests for this year and the threats of violence at the event last year.
'After speaking with a member of the DGPT staff yesterday they made it clear they would be unwilling to change me to an earlier tee time when regarding my fears of safety on the course.
'They assured me that there would be bag checks, police, and security at the event. Upon arriving this morning there was no security or police presence, I was also allowed entry even though I did not have my credentials. There were zero security precautions.'
Responding to the incident, the Disc Golf Pro Tour said Wilson would not be punished for her protest but disputed her safety claims.
'The DGPT supports the right of all competitors to protest and have their voices heard, and no disciplinary action, official or otherwise, is being taken for yesterday's protest,' the organisation said.
'No rules or policies were violated. We encourage players to do what they think is right, and Ms Wilson is welcome to compete on the same playing field as all other players.
'The DGPT hopes to see Ms Wilson back at another event in the near future.'
Wilson then posted on Saturday: 'If you want to help, please stand up for female athletes every chance you get. Share your voice with the PDGA [Professional Disc Golf Association] and the DGPT. Thank you all.
'The support from the community has been overwhelming and I apologise if I am unable to respond to everyone's love and support at this time. I will do my best to get back to everyone and I appreciate and respect you all!'
She also wrote: 'I am a tile mason by trade. I work an extremely hard, laborious, and dirty job to even begin to afford to go on tour.
'Every penny that has been put into my disc golf career has come out of my own pocket just so I can try to climb my way to the top through merit, determination, and perseverance. Believe it or not disc golf is not lucrative if you're not in the top 10.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Arsenal star David Raya dresses as an air stewardess and serves passengers in hilarious pics from Las Vegas stag do
Arsenal ace David Raya was joined by other footballers UP IN THE AIR UP IN THE AIR Arsenal star David Raya dresses as an air stewardess and serves passengers in hilarious pics from Las Vegas stag do ARSENAL ace David Raya jetted off to Las Vegas for his stag do with close friends. Raya, 29, helped the Gunners finish second in the Premier League with some solid performances between the sticks that also contributed to his team's run to the Champions League semi-finals. Advertisement 8 Arsenal ace David Raya flew to Las Vegas for his stag do 8 Raya was joined by his brother, a comedian and some LaLiga footballers 8 Raya dressed as an air stewardess and served cookies to fellow passengers 8 Raya shared a series of snaps from his trip to Las Vegas ARSENAL TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest rumours from the Emirates But now the goalkeeper is gearing up for his wedding with model fiancee Tatiana Trouboul. The Spain international proposed to Tatiana in October of last year and they are now set to marry. And the Spain international has kicked off the wedding preparations with a bachelor party in Sin City. Advertisement Raya was joined by his brother Oscar as well as Spanish comedian Tomas Garcia Serrano. A number of footballers also linked up with them including Getafe's Diego Rico Salguero as well as Rayo Vallecano's Adri Embarba and Unai Lopez. All of them took to the streets of Vegas wearing Arsenal gear and taking group photos. But before making it to the US, Raya was pictured dressed as an air stewardess during the flight. Advertisement The keeper appeared to be serving other passengers cookies on board the aircraft. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Join SUN CLUB for the Arsenal Files every Friday plus in-depth coverage and exclusives from The Emirates Tatiana and Raya have been together since 2021 but left it until June 2022 to go public with their relationship. Advertisement The model heralds from Barcelona but has since moved her life to London to be alongside Raya. Arsenal star David Raya cosies up to model fiancee on yacht as she leaves little to imagination in see-through tights She previously divided her time between the capital and Spain. 8 Raya is engaged to model fiancee Tatiana Trouboul Credit: Instagram @ 8 Raya and Tatiana have been together since June 2021 Credit: Instagram @ @ Advertisement 8 Raya proposed to Tatiana last year Credit: X formerly Twitter / @DavidRaya_22 / Instagram / @


North Wales Chronicle
3 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Luke Littler ready for ‘one of the best feelings' playing at World Cup
The 18-year-old will team up in Frankfurt with Luke Humphries, who beat Littler in the Premier League final at the O2 Arena last month. Humphries guided England to a record-breaking fifth World Cup success with Michael Smith last year and a sixth crown is being plotted at Eissporthalle ahead of the tournament starting on Thursday. 'I've not spoke to anyone about putting the shirt on for your country, but I am sure it is one of the best feelings you'll ever have. I'm sure me and Luke are ready for it,' Littler reflected. THE GROUPS 🔢 Here's how the groups shape up ahead at the 2025 @BetVictor World Cup of Darts… Reminder that the top four seeded nations enter in the second round. Read more 👉 — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) June 4, 2025 'Obviously Luke won it last year with Michael Smith, I'm sure he'll want to go back-to-back. For myself, I want to win it on debut just as much as Luke wants to retain it.' If Littler is to enjoy a maiden World Cup of Darts triumph, he will have to improve his recent form in Germany. The start of a hex can be charted back to September when Littler collapsed from a position of strength to lose to Peter Wright in the German Darts Championship final. Boos occurred on that occasion and Littler struggled on Night Nine of the Premier League in Berlin at the start of April before three weeks later he fell short of German Grand Prix success in Munich. Littler added: 'The only bad one last year was Hildesheim against Peter Wright. I think I was 5-2 up, lost 8-5 and obviously as soon as you're beating the home favourite, as everyone likes to call it, that is when they don't start to like you. A post shared by Luke TheNuke Littler (@lukethenukelittler) 'I wouldn't say it's upset me but I would say I was obviously a bit angry. I wouldn't say (during) Premier League. The biggest one is Germany, but I did what Gerwyn Price always does, go on Instagram, have a bit of a moan and take it down half an hour later.' World Cup delight with England – with the holders set to start their campaign in the second round on Saturday – will help Littler forget about his past tricky experiences in Germany and may change his mind on whether darts should be entered into the Olympics. 'Yeah, there was a lot of talk last year on the Olympics and for myself, I don't have a clue,' Littler admitted. 'Would it be good? Would it be bad? I'm not really an Olympics person, so I won't sit there and watch it. 'I don't know if it would be good or bad for darts. I am not sure if it would fit in as much.'

Leader Live
3 hours ago
- Leader Live
Luke Littler ready for ‘one of the best feelings' playing at World Cup
The 18-year-old will team up in Frankfurt with Luke Humphries, who beat Littler in the Premier League final at the O2 Arena last month. Humphries guided England to a record-breaking fifth World Cup success with Michael Smith last year and a sixth crown is being plotted at Eissporthalle ahead of the tournament starting on Thursday. 'I've not spoke to anyone about putting the shirt on for your country, but I am sure it is one of the best feelings you'll ever have. I'm sure me and Luke are ready for it,' Littler reflected. THE GROUPS 🔢 Here's how the groups shape up ahead at the 2025 @BetVictor World Cup of Darts… Reminder that the top four seeded nations enter in the second round. Read more 👉 — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) June 4, 2025 'Obviously Luke won it last year with Michael Smith, I'm sure he'll want to go back-to-back. For myself, I want to win it on debut just as much as Luke wants to retain it.' If Littler is to enjoy a maiden World Cup of Darts triumph, he will have to improve his recent form in Germany. The start of a hex can be charted back to September when Littler collapsed from a position of strength to lose to Peter Wright in the German Darts Championship final. Boos occurred on that occasion and Littler struggled on Night Nine of the Premier League in Berlin at the start of April before three weeks later he fell short of German Grand Prix success in Munich. Littler added: 'The only bad one last year was Hildesheim against Peter Wright. I think I was 5-2 up, lost 8-5 and obviously as soon as you're beating the home favourite, as everyone likes to call it, that is when they don't start to like you. A post shared by Luke TheNuke Littler (@lukethenukelittler) 'I wouldn't say it's upset me but I would say I was obviously a bit angry. I wouldn't say (during) Premier League. The biggest one is Germany, but I did what Gerwyn Price always does, go on Instagram, have a bit of a moan and take it down half an hour later.' World Cup delight with England – with the holders set to start their campaign in the second round on Saturday – will help Littler forget about his past tricky experiences in Germany and may change his mind on whether darts should be entered into the Olympics. 'Yeah, there was a lot of talk last year on the Olympics and for myself, I don't have a clue,' Littler admitted. 'Would it be good? Would it be bad? I'm not really an Olympics person, so I won't sit there and watch it. 'I don't know if it would be good or bad for darts. I am not sure if it would fit in as much.'