Commissioner Mike Whan released the following statement after the meeting: "The LPGA discussed the transgender topic today with our player membership at our year-end meeting. The players voted in favor of amending the LPGA Constitution, eliminating the requirement that competitors must be 'female at birth'. Steps will be taken in the coming weeks to make the appropriate changes in the language of the Constitution."
The vote comes as no surprise to anyone who's been following the legal saga initiated by 57-year-old transgender long-drive champion Lana Lawless, who sued the LPGA and some of its sponsors in federal court last October, claiming the "female at birth" clause violated California civil rights law. The LPGA is the last major sports organization to change its constitution to grant inclusion to athletes who have undergone gender-reassignment surgery; the USGA, Ladies European Tour, NCAA and IOC have already done so, and Danish transgender player Mianne Bagger has been competing in LET events since 2004.
--Stina Sternberg
