Transgender darts player says being banned from the England Open left her feeling suicidal after she received online abuse
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A transgender darts player has said being banned from a competition left her feeling suicidal after she received a wave of online abuse.
Samantha Lewis, 28, had planned to compete in the female category at the England Darts Open in Devon in June but was excluded from playing.
Unlike some other darts competitions, England Darts does not allow for transwomen to play in female events.
Its chairman Tommy Thompson said in April: 'Non-birth gender females in women's events will ultimately result in the demise of our women's sport.'
But the decision to leave Samantha out, and the outpouring of online harassment which she claims included 'slander and discrimination', have taken a severe toll on her mental health.
Samantha Lewis, 28, had planned to compete in the female category at the England Darts Open in Devon in June but was excluded from playing
The decision to leave Samantha out, and the outpouring of online harassment which she claims included 'slander and discrimination', have taken a severe toll on her mental health
Samantha said darts have been in her family her whole life, and she caught the bug by watching her dad compete in pubs and tournaments
Samantha works as a support worker in North Cave, East Yorkshire, and started her gender transition at 14.
She said darts have been in her family her whole life, and she caught the bug by watching her dad compete in pubs and tournaments.
Samantha started taking part competitively around six years ago and now plays with Humberside County Darts.
But Samantha said she often faces abuse from fellow players and fans at venues, who make offensive remarks about her gender.
She told the BBC: 'Recently, there has been some politics within the community of transgender women playing in women's sports. I've had a lot of slander and discrimination.'
Samantha only learned about her ban when she received a rejection message on Facebook - a move she said was 'very unprofessional'.
She said: 'Mentally, my mum has been really worried about me because I've gone down that slippery slope again. I wanted to end it all. I know it's just a game, but it's something that I love doing.'
She said she often faces abuse from fellow players and fans at venues, who make offensive remarks about her gender
But despite the challenges, she has been supported by her team Inglemire and Humberside County Darts.
She is currently taking a break from competition to focus on her mental health.
England Darts issued a statement explaining its stance on the inclusion of transgender women in women's events.
It wrote: 'England Darts has canvassed its players and executives on this very important issue concerning the future of women's darts, and how England can continue to protect the integrity within our sport for its female members.
It added that including 'non-birth-gender females' in women's competitions could 'ultimately result in the demise of our women's sport'.
But Samantha does not agree that the female darts competition would be compromised by allowing transwomen to compete.
She told The Sun: 'I don’t feel like I have an advantage over natural birth women. It’s all to do with the practice you put in.
'It’s a skill sport. I know that you’re using your arm to throw it at the board, but it’s having that precision skill to be able to throw something to such an accurate target.
'I do agree that trans women shouldn’t play [competitively] in physical sports like football, rugby, swimming, boxing. But darts is a skill sport, not a physical sport.'
The world of darts continues to debate the fairness of allowing transgender women players to compete against birth females.
In May a former darts world No 1 and sports psychology expert revealed why she believed it was scientifically unfair to allow transgender darts players to compete.
It came after British darts star Deta Hedman decided to withdraw from a tournament that month after being drawn against a transgender woman.
In an interview discussing her decision to pull out of the competition the 64-year-old claimed the prospect of facing trans player Noa-Lynn van Leuven had caused her both mental and physical distress.
Deta Hedman discussed her decision to pull out of a darts tournament after being drawn against a transgender woman in May
The former world No 1 reached the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open in May
Hedman claimed the prospect of facing Noa-Lynn van Leuven (pictured) left her in tears
'As I said, for last few years, I've struggled with this situation of playing a transgender,' Hedman said on GB News.
'In more than one occasions, I've been wanting to pull out, and people have spoken to me not to do it.'
'But in the end, it got to me, and it was beginning to affect me, physically and mentally.
'But all the ladies who do participate in the women's game, have been complaining that they didn't enjoy the experience [of playing against a trans player].
'They've been asking me to take it up to the board to see if they can have it changed. We just looked into so much I've read so many things, and in fairness, it just hurt my head.
'The last lady series, I sat there, and so many girls was coming to me telling me this, that, and whatever. And I just sat there and just put my head back, put my headphone was absolutely crying my eyes out.'
Darts is unique in that it hosts competitions, including the PDC World Championships, that allow open tournaments which male and female athletes can compete against each other on the world stage.
In 2019, Fallon Sherrock made history becoming the first woman to beat a man at the event, defeating Ted Evetts in the first round before also beating Mensur Suljovic.
While some sporting organisations, including World Athletics and the International Chess Federation, have banned trans athletes from participating in female-only events, in darts, the World Darts Federation (WDF) recently re-stated their policy that allows nonbiological male darts players to compete in women's events, subject to a set of criteria.
• For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
