The Oklahoma State Athletic Commission has issued a formal warning to AEW because of a Dec. 20 match on “Dynamite” in which former AEW women’s world champ Nyla Rose wrestled Alejandra Lion.
The reason for the warning: Nyla Rose is transgender; Alejandro Lion is not.
Well, that’s part of the issue.
The other part: Oklahoma is Oklahoma.
The commission, at its Jan. 3 meeting, unanimously passed a resolution “to warn AEW not to do this again, or there will be punitive action made against them if they do.”
This is coming out now, three months later, due to on-the-spot local reporting by several Oklahoma news outlets.
Rose, 41, a native of Washington, D.C., who grew up in Northern Virginia, started her wrestling career on the indies in 2013, and earned a spot in the upstart AEW in 2019, becoming the first trans woman to sign with a top-level U.S. wrestling promotion.
She won the AEW women’s world title in 2020 and held the belt for three months.
Note that I write “she.”
That much should be obvious, right?
The OSAC, in its meeting minutes, misgendered Rose, referring to her with male pronouns, because that’s what this was really all about, politics and bigotry.
Oklahoma, in 2021, enacted a law barring trans athletes from competing against cisgender athletes.
Word must not have yet gotten to the folks in Oklahoma that wrestling is, well, I don’t want to be the one to tell them that Santa Claus ain’t real, but the rest of you know.
The other bit of info that seems to have flown over that particular sector of flyover country: 1.6 million Americans 13-and-over identify as trans, according to data from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.
Which is to say, Nyla Rose isn’t alone.
Among the trans population, 40.4 percent have attempted suicide, according to Williams Institute numbers, with the key risk factors being experiences of discrimination, stigma and family rejection.
You see how these officials in Oklahoma have handled this Nyla Rose thing, which shouldn’t have even been a thing – it was a wrestling match, for chrissakes – and you don’t have to wonder why mental-health issues are rampant in the trans community.
Rose, for her part, at least publicly, took the diss from the OSAC in stride.
“Don’t worry Oklahoma, I’ll find the dastardly Transgender that *checks notes* entertained fans!!! HOW DARE THEY MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY?!!!” Rose tweeted.
If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org
For local mental health resources, visit AFP’s Project Mental Health page.
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Chris Graham
