British female darts player Deta Hedman was excluded from competing at the Denmark Open over the weekend after refusing to play against a transgender player.
Hedman was scheduled to face Noah-Lynn van Leuven in the quarterfinals of the tournament, but chose not to play and was disqualified.
Hedman denied reports that he missed the game due to illness and also refused any compensation he may have lost due to his decisions.
Regarding “X,” Hedman wrote, “I didn’t pretend to be sick, I said I wouldn’t play a man at a girls’ event.”
She added: “This issue causes great concern for the sport I love. People can be anything they want in life, but I believe that biologically born males should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.” I think so.”
Van Leuven ultimately lost to Beau Graves in the semifinals.
Van Leuven defeated Graves in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) women’s and mixed events in March.
Van Leuven told the Guardian last year that her transition began when she was 16, and that the backlash began when she entered women’s competitive darts.
“I was becoming more and more dissatisfied with myself, to the point where I didn’t want to live anymore,” Van Leuven told the outlet. “And in that moment, I thought, “I can go both ways with this. I can end it, and I can live the way I want to live.”
PDC chief executive Matt Porter told the Guardian last year that Van Leuven complied with the organization’s transgender participation policy.
PDC follows the policies of the Darts Regulatory Authority. International Olympic Committee.
The IOC’s darts policy requires transgender female athletes to have testosterone levels below 10 nanomoles per liter for at least 12 months and not be able to change their gender identity for at least four years. Transgender women may not have a “presumption of superiority,” and the IOC has recommended that sports “need to mitigate any disproportionate advantage.”
