Two Transgender Players Compete in Women’s Pool Final – The Daily Sceptic
A professional women’s pool tournament has been branded “preposterous” after the final was contested by two transgender players who had each beaten four female opponents. The Telegraph has more.
Harriet Haynes and Lucy Smith faced off in the Ultimate Pool Women’s Pro Series Event 2 at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, having each beaten four female-born opponents.
Broadcaster Piers Morgan labelled the event as “preposterous” before accusing the sport of “cheating bulls—” on social media. Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies went on to call it “bloody ridiculous and grossly wrong in every way”.
Replying to a post by Reduxx Magazine on X, which claimed “two men” were facing each other for a championship title, Morgan wrote: “Why anyone supports this cheating bulls— is utterly beyond me.”
Haynes won the competition, her path to the title including victories over Megan Proctor and Mary Talbot, while Smith reached the final by knocking out Kirsty-Lee Davies and Danielle Randle along the way.
The latest controversy comes almost a year-and-a-half after Lynne Pinches forfeited the 2023 Women’s Champion of Champions final in protest at the participation of Haynes, who was awarded the title (see video below).
Pinches later told TalkTV: “Whenever you play a transgender player, even if you win, it doesn’t make any difference because, in your heart, you know it’s unfair.
“This is a category advantage. Being biologically male and playing against females gives you a clear category advantage.
“Every time I play a transgender player, I think about it before, during and after the match, about how unfair it is and how this is a level I can’t reach.
“I watch some of the shots they play, and I think females don’t play these shots down the rails like this and they don’t clear up like this. They [trans women] have a longer reach and a lot of them are taller than us.
“Women have been silenced because of fear of being transphobic. That is why people don’t speak out about this subject. It’s not a gender issue. This is a fairness issue.”
Worth reading in full.
