Transgender darts player, 29, SUES sport bosses for ‘discrimination’ after being barred from women’s tournaments

A TRANS darts player is suing for discrimination after being barred from women’s events. Samantha Lewis, 29, says she competed in them for seven years without objection until 2024. Trans darts player Samantha Lewis, 29, says she competed in women’s darts events for seven years before being barred Credit: SWNS The case is the latest trans controversy to hit darts after Dutch player Noa-Lynn van Leuven won tournaments but was then blocked from competing Credit: PA But the England Darts Organisation told her she was not welcome at its events in May 2024, and sister body Tri Nations Darts followed suit. Lewis, of North Cave, near Hull, who has lived as a woman for 14 years, claims she was discriminated against because of her gender reassignment. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! However, the two bodies say they barred her over accusations she made in a Facebook post about female darts player Deta Hedman, a staunch critic of trans women competing in women’s events. They say the post falsely claimed Hedman, 66, lost the final of the Denmark Women’s Open to trans player Noa-Lynn van Leuven, then refused to shake hands and “stormed out”. They also say her legal claim was lodged too late. Lewis’s claim says she started playing darts at 14, changed her name by deed poll in 2015 and has taken hormones to raise her oestrogen and lower her testosterone for 10 years. In April 2024, England Darts published a statement saying it would not join women’s events with “non-birth gender females” as that would “ultimately result in the demise of our Women’s sport”. The case is the latest trans controversy to hit darts after Dutch player Noa-Lynn van Leuven won tournaments but was then blocked from competing. Most read in Sport A hearing at Hull County Court is set for December. Comment now