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Loading ...Darts battle centers around trans player
09.18.2008 4:35pm EDT
(London) The game of darts is serious business in Britain – from friendly games at pubs to organized leagues – but one women’s team is crying foul after it was kicked out of a league.
The Colliers B say it’s because one of their players is transgendered. The league says it’s because the women were using “unladylike language” during matches.The team accuses the league of blatant discrimination and says its members were no more vocal than those on opposing teams.
The Sun newspaper reports that the dispute centers around Melanie Partlow, who joined the team two years ago after undergoing sex reassignment surgery in Thailand.
“They said there had been a vote by 10 of the 12 teams in the league and they didn’t want us in it,” team captain Leanne Gardiner told The Sun.
“Melanie is feeling awful, as it’s pretty clear that it’s down to her. The other plays often ignored her, but nothing was said to her face,” she told the paper.
“We’re all behind Melanie – it’s disgusting what’s happened.”
Since joining the team two years ago, Partlow, 57, has become the Colliers B’s star player and is credited with helping the team win several championships.
“They all know about me and I answer every question they ask, including the one most people are scared to ask,” she told The Sun.
“Most women are OK with me, but some refuse to shake my hand and won’t touch me. It’s daft because I feel as much of a woman as they are.”
The league is defending its decision.
“Some women do find her a bit off-putting, but it is the team’s language that was the problem,” a spokesperson told the paper.
Partlow is disabled, having lost a leg several years ago. Formerly married to a woman, she began to transition while still wed. She completed the surgery with a half-million dollar prize she and her former wife won in a lottery. The two are reportedly still friends.
From the info given, there’s definitely something fishy going on, but it might be one of two things.
The first is what we’re all worried for, and that’s because she’s transgendered and there’s discrimination.
The second is strictly a strategic move. The Colliers B’s seem to have won many tournaments, so they must be formidable opponents. A chance to remove one of your biggest threats to any championship? 10 out of 12 teams said yes.
Of all the sports out there, I know each and every one has some sort of unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (penalty time, yellow/red card, ejection, forfeiting a point, etc.). Now why can’t the Cheslyn Hay Women’s League write that into their rules?