Transgender female disc golfer removed from women's event amid legal drama

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The Disc Golf Pro Tour was pushed into the spotlight over the weekend after Natalie Ryan, a transgender female competitor, saw her chances of possibly winning a California tournament disappear due to an appeal of court ruling.

The Professional Disc Golf Association tightened its rules on transgender participation in December, which would have kept Ryan out of the women’s division. She filed a discrimination lawsuit in February, saying the tour’s decision was based on "prejudice," according to OutSports.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley granted Ryan a temporary restraining order to allow her to play.

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The Professional Disc Golf Association tightened its rules on transgender participation in December. (Lewis Geyer/Digital First Media/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images)

"It appears there was an intentional act, the creation of a policy, that excludes individuals based on their protected status as transgender women," Nunley wrote in his decision, according to OutSports. "The Court makes no determinations as to whether this is sufficient to actually establish intentional discrimination, but it raises serious questions."

The PDGA’s rules state a transgender female may play in the women’s division if they meet one of the criteria laid out – have under 2nmol/L for two years or have had a "medical transition during Tanner Stage 2 or before age 12, whichever is later" and "the player must also continuously maintain a total testosterone level in serum below 2.0 nmol/L."

Nunley took exception to the transition part of the criteria.

"This section appears to directly target