Two Female Players Quitting National Team Over Transgender Teammate

Two professional female darts players are quitting their national team over their transgender teammate.

Dutch darts players Anca Zijlstra and Aileen de Graaf have announced on Facebook that they are leaving the team, due to their transgender teammate, Noa-Lynn van Leuven. 

"The moment you're embarrassed to be a part of the Dutch Team, because a biological man is playing in the women's team, it's time to go," Zijlstra wrote.

"I have tried to accept this, but I can not condone or justify this.

"I think that with sports there has to be an equal and level playing field which is to be used and accepted in good faith. After all, we have worked so hard to be relevant and competitive in this sport." 

De Graaf added the same thought.

"At some point you have to make decisions if something goes against your feelings," she wrote.

"You have to do what feels right for you. Hence my decision to also leave the Dutch team."

Noa-Lynn van Leuven, meanwhile, is compliant with the current rules, which allow for transgender athletes to compete as long as they have been undergoing gender-affirming treatment for at least a year.

Van Leuven won the PDC Women's Series title in Wigan over the weekend.

The transgender Dutch athlete has made it clear that she thinks she belongs.

"I have a letter from the VU University Medical Centre which states that my testosterone level has been under a certain level for the past 12 months," Van Leuven said.