Oklahoma Athletic Commission Considering Rule Change For Transgender Wrestlers

The Oklahoma State Athletic Commission is considering a rule change after the commission warned AEW over booking Nyla Rose on the company's TV tapings from Oklahoma City in December 2023.

Rose, who is transgender, defeated Alejandra Lion at the December 20, 2023 taping of Ring of Honor TV on HonorClub. A transgender wrestler performing in Oklahoma is against OSAC rules and AEW were warned by the commission over booking Rose and they stated AEW would face consequences if they broke the rules again. 

The pro wrestling community rallied behind Nyla Rose following the warning and AEW President Tony Khan admitted he was "disappointed" by the OSAC warning. Multiple people within WWE NXT also condemned the ruling. 

Wrestlenomics has revealed that then-OSAC Administrator Jim Miller notified AEW SVP Chris Harrington in January that the Commission was discussing possibly changing the rule that prevents transgender wrestlers from performing in Oklahoma.

"For your information the Commission is currently in discussion to possibly change this rule. However if it is determined by the Commission that the rule should be changed it will have to go thru [sic] the legislative process for rule-making and would not be in effect until July 2024," Miller told Harrington in an email. 

Miller also stated within the email that the matter would not be taken further if AEW agreed not to violate the state's rule again. 

"The correction to this violation is for you the promoter to not allow a male to wrestle a female at any future events promoted in the State of Oklahoma. If you are good with correcting this violation this email is as far as it will go. If you prefer to present your case in a hearing before the Commission we can also accommodate that," Miller wrote. 

AEW's Associate General Counsel, Alissa Harrington, later replied: "AEW agrees to the correction. If you have any further questions or concerns, please let Mr. Harrington and me know."

AEW ran an event in Tulsa, Oklahoma on February 21. Nyla Rose was not booked for the show. 

Miller has since retired and Diana Fletcher has been appointed as the new Commission Administrator. OSAC released the following statement through Oklahoma Assistant Attorney General Mackenzie Hill:

"Ms. Fletcher does not wish to comment at this time on the ongoing matters related to the December 2023 AEW event or the specific rules pertaining to intergender exhibitions or matches. Any actions taken to rules under the jurisdiction of the Commission must be done consistently with timeline and actions prescribed by the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act and the Oklahoma Office of Administrative Rules Regulations on Rulemaking. An agenda for the July 10, 2024 public meeting will be made available to the public consistent with the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act, which will prescribe the items of business to be discussed/considered by the Commission during that meeting."

Since the OSAC warning became public knowledge, Nyla Rose has released a t-shirt with all proceeds being donated to Freedom Oklahoma, an organisation that works to "to build a future where all Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and fuller spectrum of people whose sexuality or gender or romantic identity exists beyond a heteronormative, binary framework (2SLGBTQ+), have the safety to thrive."