Nyla Rose‘s newest AEW t-shirt is raising money for a good cause.
In April, it was reported that the records from a January meeting of the Oklahoma Athletic Commission took issue with Nyla Rose wrestling in the state. Specifically, the commission (OSAC) called out AEW for allowing Nyla to compete against a female-born opponent during a December 23, 2023 Ring Of Honor taping in Oklahoma City.
OSAC motioned to “warn” AEW that “punitive action” would be taken if it happened again. This was heavily criticized online, with many peers, co-workers and fans coming to Nyla’s defense.
Both Nyla and Tony Khan reacted to the report. Now AEW has produced a new t-shirt that will benefit an Oklahoma LGBTQ group. Royalties from Nyla’s new “HER” shirt will go to Freedom Oklahoma, a 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy group that “advocates and organizes across Oklahoma and within the 39 sovereign tribal nations that call this land home 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.”
Nyla Rose commented on the shirt release, writing the following on Twitter:
Tony Khan reacts
Tony Khan also addressed the Commission’s actions during his AEW Dynasty media call. Khan was very disappointed about the Commission’s reaction. He praised Nyla for being a great wrestler and ambassador for AEW and hopes that OSAC reconsiders their position.
“Well, I would like to talk about that story with the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission and the warning they issued against AEW when we featured Nyla Rose on a show in Oklahoma City last December. I was really surprised by this; it was not something I was expecting and of course, I was disappointed by the commission’s position by that warning,” Khan explained. “I don’t think we did anything wrong. I’m really, really shocked by it. I don’t think there should be discrimination against transgender wrestlers or transgender people at all. They have rights, and to that end, I absolutely stand by Nyla Rose. AEW stands by Nyla Rose and all transgender people who want to play sports. And this is wrestling, there was nothing wrong with it.
Tony Khan supports Nyla Rose
“Nyla Rose is a great wrestler, she’s a great world champion and I love Nyla. I love working with Nyla. She’s been a great part of our history, she was the first transgender world champion ever, and she’s a great part of the AEW Together program. She does a ton for the community, she’s a great person with a great heart,” Tony Khan continued. “She’s very supportive of the other wrestlers, one of the funniest people on social media. I’ve personally nominated Nyla to TBS for the best social media presence on more than one occasion over the years. She’s an AEW original, she’s been part of this team since 2019, going back to the first year of AEW, the first shows, the first Dynamite.
“And look at everything Nyla has accomplished, and to just put that label on her, it’s just not right. She’s much more than that. She’s a great athlete and I hope everybody can look at Nyla and see that she’s a great wrestler. She deserves the same chances as everybody else. And if the AEW locker room — which consists of people from all over the world, all kinds of different backgrounds, beliefs — if everybody in the locker room can embrace Nyla, I would hope that the Oklahoma Commission could do the same thing.”
