British darts star who refused to compete against a trans woman claims ‘periods and menopause’ put her at a disadvantage – and reveals she was ‘crying her eyes out’ when the draw was made
- Deta Hedman withdrew from the Denmark Open in the quarterfinals last week
- The 64-year-old refused to play against transgender woman Noa-Lynn van Leuven
- Former world number 1 revealed she ‘dissolved into pieces’ when she heard of the draw
British darts star Deta Hedman has explained her decision to withdraw from a tournament after being drawn against a transgender woman.
Earlier this month, Hedman defeated Kelly Streef and Natalie Gilbert to reach the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open, but opted to forfeit her place after finding out she would be facing trans woman Noa-Lynn van Leuven.
In an interview discussing her decision to withdraw from the competition, the 64-year-old claimed the prospect of facing Van Leuven had caused her both mental and physical problems.
“As I said, I have struggled over the last few years with the situation of playing a transgender person,” Hedman told GB News. “I’ve had the desire to withdraw more than once, and people have told me not to.”
“But eventually it hit me, and it started to affect me physically and mentally.
Deta Hedman discussed her decision to withdraw from a darts tournament after being drawn against a transgender woman
The former world number 1 reached the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open earlier this month
‘But all the ladies who do participate in the women’s game complain that they didn’t enjoy the experience [of playing against a trans player].
“They asked me to bring it to the board to see if they can get it changed. We just researched so much, I read so many things, and honestly it just hurt my head.
“At the last women’s series, I was sitting there, and so many girls came up to me and told me this, that and the other thing. And I just sat there and put my head back and put my headphones on and absolutely cried my eyes out.”
When asked what advantages a trans player would have in darts, Hedman replied: “There are those who say there are no advantages or disadvantages, if you like.
‘But what they all seem to have forgotten is about the biological woman, this stuff we have to go through every month. Okay?
‘I’ve sat there and seen girls in double the pain at all the tournaments I go to now, a transgender [woman] I won’t have that,” she continued.
‘I’m going through menopause. They won’t have those trans women, but they tend to ignore what a born woman goes through.
Hedman claimed that the prospect of facing Noa-Lynn van Leuven left her in tears
“But like I said in Denmark, it just hit me, and I just couldn’t deal with it, because I just broke down.”
Hedman added that immediately after learning of the quarter-final draw, she spoke to the WDF tour director and immediately informed them that she would not be going ahead.
“It was just me and the tournament director, and I explained to him that I’d had my notification, as you can see, and I just said, ‘I can’t do it. I can’t handle it.’ I said, “I’m just breaking now.” And I just fell to pieces.”
With Hedman out of the competition, Van Leuven advanced to the semi-finals of the competition, where they were defeated 4–0 by eventual winner Beau Greaves.