Deta Hedman recently made headlines worldwide when the three-time Lakeside finalist at the WDF Denmark Open refused to play against transgender Noa-Lynn van Leuven.
Rumors that Hedman withdrew due to illness to retain her ranking points turned out to be incorrect. She revealed the real reason to GB News. “No, I did not withdraw due to ill health,” she begins. “Over the last few years I have struggled with the situation of playing a transgender and more than once I wanted to withdraw, but people spoke to me and said that I shouldn’t do it. But eventually it got to me and affected me physically and mentally.”
Hedman reflected not only on the future of her own individual game, but also on her role within the WDF. “All the ladies who participate in checkers darts complained that they were not enjoying it. They asked me to go to the board and see if I could change that,” she explains. “So many girls came up to me and I just sat there, put my headphones on and cried my eyes out.”
“I had a conversation with our tournament director, a private conversation without everyone there. I explained it to him and said ‘I can’t do it’. I just fell apart,” Hedman recalled. “I also fight for the girls who don’t get that opportunity. Because if we leave it at that and bury our heads in the sand, there is nothing for young women and girls to aspire to. That’s something I think is very important. ”
Hedman also proposes that trans athletes have their own tournaments in addition to men’s and women’s events. “I would imagine there will be an open tournament for trans, non-binary or whoever wants to play,” she concludes.
