Michael van Gerwen reveals advice for transgender darts star Noa-Lynn van Leuven after she was booed during her 5-0 defeat at Grand Slam of Darts
Michael van Gerwen has told transgender darts star Noa-Lynn van Leuven to ignore the crowd after her 5-0 defeat at the Grand Slam of Darts on Saturday.
Van Leuven made history by becoming the first transgender player to compete in the competition but Van Gerwen proved too strong in the first-round match.
Sections of the crowd audibly booed the 28-year-old as she made her way to the stage and there were more jeers during the first leg in Wolverhampton.
However, the hostilities ceased as the match progressed.
Speaking afterwards, Van Gerwen advised Van Leuven to block out the spectators and insisted that she was unable to control their reaction.
Michael van Gerwen has issued advice to transgender darts star Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Van Leuven was booed by the crowd during her loss to Van Gerwen at the Grand Slam of Darts
‘It was a difficult game. It was still tough. It’s always going to be a big debate,’ he said. ‘You could also hear the crowd and everything. What can you do?
‘Crowd. Her game. The situation. Mentally I was good today. You have to deal with certain circumstances and I did.
‘I’ve been in her situation multiple times. I’ve been booed.
‘You have to block things like that out.’
Before his emphatic victory, Van Gerwen had described the discussion over Van Leuven’s participation on the women’s circuit as ‘heartbreaking’.
He told Ad.nl: ‘It’s just heartbreaking. She does what she does and she can play terrific darts. Let her play nice.
‘For me, there’s never been a discussion, but I don’t make the rules. The PDC has people who go over them. They can never make the right choice anyway.
‘If they go left, people say they should go right and vice versa. Everyone has an opinion about it, but there is no point at all in continuing to argue.’
Van Leuven became the first ever transgender player to compete in the tournament
Female darts star Deta Hedman dropped out of WDF events to avoid facing Van Leuven
Van Leuven began transitioning in 2022 but previously revealed she almost stepped away from the sport due to feeling depressed.
Her appearances in women’s competition has been met with a backlash, with Deta Hedman withdrawing from World Darts Federation events to avoid facing her.
In response to the furore, Van Leuven described some of her female opponents as ‘toxic b*******’ because of their behaviour.
