{"id":7781,"date":"2024-05-07T08:19:07","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T08:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7781"},"modified":"2024-05-07T08:19:07","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T08:19:07","slug":"female-darts-star-deta-hedman-refuses-to-face-transgender-player-and-forfeits-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=7781","title":{"rendered":"Female darts star Deta Hedman refuses to face transgender player and forfeits tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

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British darts player Deta Hedman forfeited her place at the Denmark Open (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Female darts star Deta Hedman has withdrawn from the Denmark Open after refusing to take on a transgender opponent and called for a blanket ban on trans women in female events.<\/p>\n

Hedman, 64, had been drawn against Noa-Lynn van Leuven \u2013 the defending champion \u2013 at the quarter-final stage, but forfeited her chance to go any further in the tournament in which the winner takes home prize money of 12,000 DKK (\u00a31,400).<\/p>\n

It had initially been reported that Hedman pulled out due to illness, though the veteran Brit \u2013 an established figure in the darts world \u2013 confirmed this was not the case on X, writing: \u2018No fake illness, I said I wouldn\u2019t play a man in a ladies event\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m not playing against a man in a women\u2019s event,\u2019 Hedman later told German publication Bild.<\/p>\n

Hedman, a known critic of rules allowing transgender women in women\u2019s competitions prior to this month\u2019s tournament in Esbjerg, Denmark, subsequently took to X to demand \u2018fairness in women\u2019s sport\u2019 in a post directed at Save Women\u2019s Sport.<\/p>\n

In the message, Hedman also confirmed that she had been paid for competing at the Denmark Open after Riley Gaines \u2013 a former US swimmer \u2013 offered to shell out for any financial hit she may have taken.<\/p>\n

\u2018I must get into contact with Deta Hedman. I want to pay her the prize money she missed out on, just as Seth Dillon and I did with billiards player Kim O\u2019Brien for taking the same stand. Bravery deserves to be rewarded,\u2019 Gaines had written on X, prompting Hedman to respond: \u2018Thank you for your kind offer, but Denmark Darts paid me out in full.\u2019<\/p>\n

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@Riley_Gaines_<\/a> thank you for your kind offer , but Denmark Darts paid me out in full for event . @SaveWSports<\/a> . This subject causing much angst in the sport I love . People can be whoever they want in life but I don\u2019t think biological born men should compete in Women\u2019s sport<\/p>\n

\u2014 Deta Hedman (@Deta132) May 6, 2024<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Tagging Save Women\u2019s Sport in the latter half of her post, Hedman added: \u2018This subject causing much angst in the sport I love. <\/p>\n

\u2018People can be whoever they want in life but I don\u2019t think biological born men should compete in women\u2019s sport.\u2019<\/p>\n

It comes after female pool player Lynne Pinches turned down her first professional contract in the sport, with the 50-year-old refusing to do battle with transgender champion Harriet Haynes in the finals of the English Pool Association\u2019s 2023 Champion of Champions Ladies.<\/p>\n

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Hedman, a three-time runner-up at the BDO World Darts Championship, made her stance clear when it came to trans women competing in women\u2019s sport back in December.<\/p>\n

The Jamaica-born player stressed that she had \u2018no problem\u2019 with transgender people but found it \u2018wrong since day one\u2019 that trans individuals could freely take part in women\u2019s ranked events.<\/p>\n

\u2018For many months I\u2019ve struggled with transgenders playing in the women\u2019s world ranked events,\u2019 she wrote in a post on social media. <\/p>\n

\u2018I have thought this is wrong since day one, I have no problem with transgenders in life\u2026 Noa is a really nice person, nobody is disputing that at all\u2026 it\u2019s just my belief and many other women players\u2019 belief that trans shouldn\u2019t be in women\u2019s ranked events.\u2019<\/p>\n