Deta Hedman announced on Sunday evening that she will not compete in the WDF World Masters next month in Hungary. This announcement comes after the WDF revealed they would sanction players intentionally withdrawing from matches.
If you’ve been following Deta Hedman in 2024 you’ll be aware that she has been vocal about transgender participation in the women’s game.
Not only has she been vocal about her stance but has not hesitated to take action. On several occasions this year she has forfeited her place in a tournament once drawn against a transgender player.
This has been a sensitive subject this year with Noa-Lynn van Leuven bringing a lot of attention to the womens game for her performances (becoming the first trans woman player to win a PDC Tour event) and based on the fact that she is a transgender player.
The controversy surrounding this subject has led the WDF to release a statement at the end of August stating disciplinary action could be taken against players withdrawing from tournaments. See official statement below:
In the statement they don’t mention a reason for withdrawals but it can be assumed that the timing and need for this statement is a result of the transgender controversies in the game.
As mentioned, Deta Hedman is the most publicised for these actions and as a result, she has now withdrawn from the WDF World Masters prior to the tournament beginning (which would avoid any sanctions).
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👉 Deta Hedman Campaigns AGAINST transgender participation in women’s darts
Deta Hedman Mentions ‘Mental Health’ as a Reason to Withdraw From WDF World Masters
On Sunday evening, Deta Hedman took to her Facebook account to announce that she would be withdrawing from the WDF World Masters in Hungary next month.
See below for her full announcement:
“Made the heartbreaking decision last night that I will not be playing in the WDF World Masters in Hungary, this truly is an amazing dart tournament with players from around the world attending, every player who has the chance to play in this event should experience it at least once.
“With the recent WDF announcement on not fulfilling matches, I have decided I can’t give a 100% guarantee on that matter as my mental health is pretty shot right now.
“Waiting so long to enter meant flights very expensive and hotel prices and still don’t know if I would be in a position that would trigger another mini breakdown.
“Hope everyone that attends has a fantastic tournament and apologise in advance to the Hungarian Darts Federation, they know how much I love going to their events and have done so for years, Budapest is an absolute amazing city and you will love it.
“Eniko Harsanyi Veronika Ihász Tina Oláh-Csombok and all my Hungarian friends I’m sorry.”
Hedman does not specifically mention transgender participation in this post and instead mentions the mental health issues she’s faced when choosing to withdraw from previous tournaments.
*Though this has been once she’s drawn against a transgender player.
With neither the WDF or Hedman looking likely to change their stance on the subject, how do people feel this will be resolved?
Could this be the end of Hedman’s long darting career, let us know your thoughts in the comments below 👇
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