A transgender tennis player in New York City claims that a league banished her after it received complaints from a cisgender athlete.

Cammie Woodman, 25, played a friendly match last week and was removed from the Brooklyn Tennis League shortly thereafter following an email exchange.

Newsweek reached out to the league and the national Tennis League Network, which oversees the local division, for comment.

Newsweek reached out to Woodman through social media for comment.

Why It Matters

Discrimination against transgender individuals or anyone else based on identity is illegal in the state of New York.

Transgender individuals in athletics has become a national cultural issue and was a focal point during Donald Trump‘s presidential campaign. Since taking office in January, Trump signed executive orders to ban transgender females from participating in organized female sports.

What To Know

Woodman reportedly played two sets last week and was victorious in both as part of a friendly match at the Lincoln Terrace Park tennis courts in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn last week, according to The City.

An email exchange followed, including Woodman, her opponent, and the Tennis League Network’s CEO, Steven Chagnon. She was then booted from the league.

“As a trans athlete, especially when you care about the sport so much, it’s such a nightmare to be accused of trying to gain an unfair advantage over players in the league that you cared about,” Woodman told The City.

“When you respect the league and your opponents and the league so much, it hurts to see your opponents disrespect you that way.”

Woodman posted screenshots of some of the emails on her Instagram page.

One of them included Chagnon saying to Woodman: “Can we move you over to an appropriate level Men’s Division?”

Woodman posted that Chagnon told her an opponent had complained about fairness to league executives, saying, “It’s unfair…to play against a man under the pretense that he is a woman.”

Woodman said on Instagram that she declined an invitation to play in the men’s division and offered medical records to the league to remain in the female league.

Others purportedly emailed Chagnon in Woodman’s defense, to which Chagnon replied: “Everyone who is connected is getting refunded immediately and removed from the program.”

She has called on the New York City Parks Department and the New York City Commission on Human Rights to investigate the matter.

“Discrimination has no place in our city,” Chris Clark, spokesperson for the NYC Parks Department, told Newsweek on Tuesday. “Our public parks are spaces where all New Yorkers and visitors should feel welcome.”

Clark added that the city has no formal relationship with Tennis League Network or the associated Brooklyn Tennis League and has not issued permits for league play in 2025.

Laura Brantley, spokesperson for the NYC Commission on Human Rights, reiterated that discrimination based on gender identity is illegal under state law.

“Anyone who has experienced or witnessed discrimination should reach out to the Commission,” Brantley told Newsweek.

When asked if Woodman has personally contacted the commission for help, Brantley said the commission cannot confirm, deny or comment on such matters.

What People Are Saying:

Mel O’Brien, a friend of Cammie Woodman, told The City: “I don’t want to be in a league that discriminates against people, especially something that’s so casual, it’s so unnecessary to exclude Cammie from this league.”

What Happens Next

Should Woodman file a complaint with the city human rights commission, NYC Human Rights Law requires that it be filed within three years since it would align with gender-based harassment.

Woodman would have to include the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the people or organizations allegedly discriminating, along with the exact dates of the events.