"Not a woman, so get out?" Transgender athlete's anger: "I've competed for seven years, why..." Turns out female colleague made false accusations and backfired

*This content was translated by AI.

A transgender darts player filed a discrimination lawsuit against the organizers after being barred from competing in women's tournaments.

Britain's The Sun reported on the 8th (Korea time) that "transgender darts player Samantha Lewis (29) has filed a lawsuit against the English Darts Organisation (EDO) and others."

Lewis had competed in women's tournaments without sanctions for seven years. However, the English Darts Organisation and its sister body, Tri-Nations Darts, banned her from competing entirely in May. Lewis, who has lived as a woman for 14 years, claims she faced unjust discrimination on the grounds of gender transition.

On the other hand, the organizers cited false posts Lewis uploaded to Facebook as grounds for disciplinary action. They alleged that Lewis falsely defamed fellow player Dita Headman (66). Headman has long strongly opposed transgender athletes competing in women's tournaments.

The organizers countered that "Lewis spread the false claim that 'Headman refused to shake hands and ran off after losing to a transgender player (Noah Lin van Ruben) in the final of the Denmark Women's Open.'" The organizers also pointed out procedural issues, noting that Lewis filed the lawsuit too late.

According to the complaint, Lewis began playing darts at age 14 and legally changed her name in 2015. For the following 10 years, she underwent hormone therapy to raise estrogen levels and lower testosterone levels.

The English Darts Organisation issued a statement in April banning all athletes who are not biologically female from competing in women's tournaments. The organisation emphasized that allowing such participation "would ultimately lead to the end of women's sports."

The darts community has recently been grappling with conflicts over transgender athletes' participation. Earlier, Noah Lin van Ruben, a player of Dutch origin, sparked controversy after being banned from competing following a tournament victory.

Lewis's attorney, Matt Champ, stated, "The organisation expelled our client overnight without any investigation or opportunity to explain." He added, "We will prove in court that their actions were illegal and unjust."

The trial for this case is scheduled to take place in December at the Hull County Court.

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*This content was translated by AI.