A British female darts star has forfeited a major competition event after being paired against a male player in a women’s match.
Deta Hedman, 64, walked away from her chance to win the Denmark Open after refusing to face a transgender player.
She is calling for the sport to ban those male athletes from competing in female events by claiming to be “transgender women.”
Hedman, who has been a vocal critic of rules allowing transgenders to compete in women’s tournaments, pulled out of the quarter-final match against Noa-Lynn Van Leuven.
Van Leuven is a man who claims to “identify” as a “woman” and competes in the female events after failing to rank professionally in the men’s events.
Hedman is one of the most well-known figures in the women’s darts scene.
In the past, she has called on the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and the World Darts Federation (WDF) to exclude transgender athletes from women’s tournaments.
“I’m not playing against a man in a women’s event,” Hedman bluntly told German newspaper Bild.
Supporters of Hedman were quick to offer the darts star compensation for her decision to boycott the tournament, offering to make up any prize money she may have lost.