Darts player withdraws from tournament over transgender opponent

Deta Hedman, a distinguished figure in the world of darts and a three-time World Championship finalist, has once again made headlines by withdrawing from a tournament after being scheduled to face a transgender opponent, Jake News reports. The incident took place on Saturday at a women’s singles tournament organized by the United Kingdom Darts Association.

Hedman, 64, known in the darts community as ‘The Heart of Darts’, had already successfully navigated her first two matches against Patricia Roberts and Barbara Legge. However, she decided not to proceed further upon learning that her next match would be against Sam Lewis, a transgender athlete.

Hedman’s decision marks her second withdrawal under similar circumstances in a short period. In May, she forfeited a match at the Denmark Open to avoid playing against another transgender player, Noa-Lynn van Leuven. This stance has led to a substantial amount of public criticism, and support.

Explaining her recent decision on Facebook, Hedman stated, “Re my forfeiting my match on Saturday, not much was discussed about my being right or wrong in my decision not to play a transgender person. But more of an attack on my literacy skills and choice of words.” Hedman has defended her actions by asserting, “I’m not playing against a man in a women’s event.”

Sam Lewis, set to be Hedman’s opponent, has also been in the spotlight recently. In an interview with Devon Live, Lewis recounted her experience of being barred from competing at the English Darts Open in Devon due to her gender identity. Lewis said, “That was very disheartening getting that message because I’ve always wanted to go down there and play in that competition. I finally get the chance to and then I’m told I’m not allowed, just because of my gender identity.”

This incident is part of a wider debate regarding the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports – if you consider darts a sport and not a game. Hedman has been vocal about her opposition to current rules that permit transgender women to compete in women’s tournaments. In a lengthy Facebook post, she highlighted her concerns about fairness and the physiological differences she believes impact the competition, citing varying levels of testosterone as a critical issue.

Hedman noted, “Add to that the ridiculous testosterone levels set for a trans to play in Women’s darts! If they achieve a level of 9.9mnol/L they can play; the normal range of women is between 0.5-2.4mnol/L. I myself have tested at 1.2.”

Additionally, Dutch competitors Anca Zijlstra and Aileen de Graaf have previously withdrawn from their national team in protest after van Leuven achieved her first PDC Tour win in March. Hedman reiterated that her stance is not aimed at personal attacks against transgender individuals and mentioned, “All I want is to compete in darts on a fair and level playing field.” She proposed that authorities, as a compromise, “drop the testosterone limit to the above high end of Women and set it as 3mnol/L.”

It remains unclear to many why testosterone levels would affect a person’s ability to throw a dart.