A trans woman participates in the women’s competition of a tennis tournament in the USA. The responsible federation president considered this to be unfair and drew the consequences.
The resignation of the president of a regional tennis association is causing a stir in the USA. Jackie Fulkrod resigned from the Cheyenne Tennis Association because she did not agree with trans tennis player Brooklyn Ross taking part in the women’s competition of a tournament.
The 27-year-old Ross is from Colorado and had gender reassignment surgery six years ago. She started playing college tennis in 2019 and has since competed in women’s competitions across the country. Now she wants to do the same at the Wyoming Governor’s Cup, an event of a US amateur tournament series. It takes place this weekend in Cheyenne, the capital of Wyoming.
Fulkrod: Participation is “against my personal integrity “
Fulkrod, the president of the federation in charge, does not agree with Ross’ participation. She told Cowboy State Daily: “I feel that it goes against my personal integrity and what I believe and value to have a transgender athlete competing in the women’s competition. “
That is why she drew consequences and resigned after almost two years in office. She stated that her decision was “based solely on the fact that we had no way to protect our organisation or our athletes who will be competing in the tournament”.
She also stated that she thought it was “wrong” that Ross was using the same changing and shower rooms as the other players.
Ross with call to her critics
Fulkrod’s mother, who was a member of the association’s honorary board, also resigned.
Ross, on the other hand, said her previous participations in women’s competitions had been “always positive and good“. She regrets Fulkrod’s decision: “I am sad that this woman is resigning over this. I feel there is no reason for it. “
At the same time, Ross issued a call to her critics: “This is an opportunity to see a transgender woman compete and experience a real example – not a hypothetical or theoretical one. “
