sport news British pool star Lynne Pinches - who walked out of a FINAL vs transgender ... trends now
British pool star Lynne Pinches has lumped praise on darts player Deta Hedman for her refusal to face a transgender opponent at the Denmark Open, claiming that female athletes 'should not be forced to make these decisions'.
On Monday, Hedman, forfeit her chance to advance to the semi-final of the tournament after refusing to face trans opponent Noa-Lynn van Leuven in the quarter-finals.
The 64-year-old darts player, who has previously spoken out against trans athletes competing in female sports, called for non-biological female athletes to be banned, before telling BILD: 'I'm not playing against a man in a women's event.'
Pinches, meanwhile, ceded the final of the Women's Champions of Champions pool event in 2023 to trans player Harriet Haynes after refusing to play against her opponent citing the fairness of allowing transgender athletes to compete against natal females. The pool star stunned audiences by starting the match against Haynes, before going back to her seat, packing up her cue before leaving the arena.
On Monday, she delivered her backing to Hedman, writing on X (formerly Twitter): 'Deta Hedman forfeits darts match against Noah Van Leuven. Full respect to her standing for fairness. It's not an easy decision to make and we shouldn't have to!! Stop this madness please.'
British pool player Lynne Pinches has lumped praise on Deta Hedman for walking away from a darts match against a transgender athlete
Hedman (left) refused to play against Noa-Lynn van Leuven (right) in the Denmark Open
Pinches recently turned down her first-ever professional contract in February after the World Eightball Pool Federation made a U-turn on its policies on transgender athletes
Pinches previously admitted her devastation of withdrawing from her match against Haynes, revealing that she was 'left crying until 3am'.
This year, she has again spoken out against trans athletes competing in female sports refusing a first-ever professional contract in February, stating that non-biological female pool players have an unfair competitive advantage over their opponents.
It came amid a U-turn by the World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) who stated in August 2023, that trans players would not be eligible to play against 'naturally-born women'. That decision was subsequently reversed, which Pinches claimed was the 'nail in the coffin' for her.
'The U-turn was the nail in the coffin for me, I was done then,' she said earlier this year.
She added: 'I'm doing this because I want to fight for the future of young people who are saying they want to quit (playing pool) before they even start.
'You can't bring up the hopes of hundreds of women and say you're going to have a female-only section in August, and then change that eight weeks later.'
It had been reported that Hedman had pulled out of the match against Van Leuven, ranked fourth in the PDC 2024 Women's Order of Merit, due to illness but she hit back at those claims on X, writing: 'No fake illness, I said I wouldn't play a man in a ladies event.'
The darts player, who is a three-time WDF World Championship finalist, subsequently went on to write a message for Save Women's Sport - an organisation that campaigns for fairness within female sports world-wide.
'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
