Transgender tennis player drops out of Wyoming tournament, claims safety risk despite receiving no threats

 A male tennis player who identifies as a woman has dropped out of the the Wyoming Governor's Cup women's tennis tournament, citing potential protests and safety risks.

Brooklyn Ross was set to participate in the women's tournament, despite being a man, which caused an uproar with those close to the event.

Jackie Fulkrod, the former president of the Cheyenne Tennis Association board, quit in protest of Ross' inclusion in the event.

"I think a man playing against a woman is a very unfair matchup when it's specifically meant for women in that specific draw," she said.

"I feel like having a transgender athlete compete in the women's draw is against my personal integrity and what I believe and value," she added.

Ross announced days later that he would no longer compete and told Cowboy State Daily he did not want his mere presence to be the main focus of the event or for protests to ruin it. 

According to the Daily Mail, the 27-year-old said it had became "more and more apparent that the environment may have not been a typical tennis tournament with things getting out of control and people's safety at risk, including my own."

"I was just concerned that this could turn into some crazy type of event where people were protesting," he added. 

Despite his reasoning, Ross said he did not receive any personal threats and that the tournament officials were actually supportive of his inclusion.

Fulkrod further defended her decision to resign after learning of Ross' withdrawal: "My decision to resign was solely based on the fact that we didn't have any way to protect our organization or protect our female athletes that are going to be playing in the tournament," she explained.

"Regardless of the withdraw, I stand firm on my belief that biological men do not belong in biological women's sports, and in this case specifically a women's only draw," Fulkrod said, according to the Daily Mail. "That won't change."

Ross was a former NCAA Division II athlete and was supposed to play in the open singles division for the tournament. The event had no age limit.

Ross began identifying as a woman around 2017 and then played college tennis starting in 2019.

United States Tennis Association Wyoming Director Peg Connor referred questions about the controversy to the orgnization's transgender policy:

"Tennis thrives when the sport embraces inclusion. For that reason, tennis is open to all regardless of one's age, ethnicity, race, religious background, sexual orientation or gender identity."