Darts player forfeits major competition rather than compete against a trans woman

British darts player Deta Hedman forfeited a match during the quarterfinals of the Denmark Open last weekend because she refused to play against transgender competitor Noa-Lynn van Leuven.

Rumors swirled that Hedman faked an illness to sit out of the match so that she could still rank, but Hedman herself shut down that notion and made it clear she did not want to compete due to her anti-trans beliefs.

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“No fake illness,” she wrote on X, proceeding to misgender van Leuven. “I said I wouldn’t play a man in a ladies event.”

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No fake illness I said I wouldn't play a man in a ladies event . Don't listen to @phillbarrs he knows sweet fa, nor does his reliable source .

— Deta Hedman (@Deta132) May 4, 2024

“This subject causing much angst in the sport I love,” she wrote in a post while turning down an offer from anti-trans activist Riley Gaines, who offered to pay her prize money. “People can be whoever they want in life but I don’t think biological born men should compete in Women’s sport.”

She told Gaines, “Thank you for your kind offer, but Denmark Darts paid me out in full for event.”

@Riley_Gaines_ thank you for your kind offer , but Denmark Darts paid me out in full for event . @SaveWSports . This subject causing much angst in the sport I love . People can be whoever they want in life but I don't think biological born men should compete in Women's sport

— Deta Hedman (@Deta132) May 6, 2024

Van Leuven – considered a Dutch darts sensation – also faced backlash in March after winning historic back-to-back victories against both men and women in the same week.

The 27-year-old won the mixed PDC Challenge Tour in Germany, defeating several past male winners to become the first woman to win an event in the series, one level below the sport’s top tier.

She then played a women’s event in the U.K., defeating two highly placed veteran players, including the current No. 1 woman, Beau Greaves. After that quarter-final victory, van Leuven went on to dispatch Ireland’s Katie Sheldon in the final.

Her wins were instantly followed by controversy.

“No male bodies in women’s sports please, not even in darts,” out tennis legend Martina Navratilova, a vocal opponent of trans inclusion in women’s sports, wrote on X. “Again, women get the short end of the stick and it stinks.”

Two of van Leuven’s teammates, Anca Zijlstra and Aileen de Graaf, quit over her presence on the Dutch squad, citing disagreement over rules on trans inclusion.

“That moment when you’re embarrassed to come out for the Dutch team, because a biological man is playing on the women’s team, it’s time to go,” Zijlstra posted to Facebook. “I have tried to accept this but I can’t approve or validate this.”

De Graff said van Leuven was free to “change and be happy,” but explained, “I just don’t think it’s right for a biological man to throw for the women or vice-versa. It’s either mixed or not.”

Trans journalist and activist Erin Reed wasn’t convinced a trans woman could have any advantage in the sport.

“Transgender women have a biological advantage at… Darts? That’s what is being claimed by a few people who are trying to get Noa-Lynn Van Leuven removed from a women’s darts team. There is no evidence transgender women are better at angles and throwing a dart,” Reed wrote.

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