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Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Transgender goalkeeper called as witness in pool's landmark case
The transgender goalkeeper whose involvement in women's football has caused a storm has been called as an expert witness by the pool player suing a federation for banning her from its female tour. Blair Hamilton, who is also an academic affiliated with Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Brighton, and the Tavistock NHS Gender Identity Clinic, was due to give evidence on Thursday in Harriet Haynes' lawsuit against the English Blackball Pool Federation (EBPF). Hamilton was called by Haynes, who is suing the EBPF after it changed its eligibility criteria in August 2023 to stop those born male playing on its female tour and county tournaments. The case is being heard this week at Canterbury County Court, with Haynes claiming the EBPF's move amounted to discrimination that had caused her a 'loss of opportunity' and 'injured feelings'. Hamilton has become a lightning rod in a growing furore about the Football Association's refusal to ban trans women from the English game. In August, Telegraph Sport reported how Sutton United, who appointed Lucy Clark as the first trans manager in the top-five tiers of the English female game, had ignited controversy by signing Hamilton for their women's team. Hamilton was recruited by Clark despite having previously drawn criticism from women's rights groups for taking the place of a female goalkeeper. The news led to Sutton abruptly postponing their scheduled match at Ebbsfleet United amid mounting anger over their signing of a biological male. Hamilton subsequently complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) about Telegraph Sport's coverage, alleging the label 'biological male' constituted a 'transphobic dog whistle'. But, last month, the press watchdog rejected this complaint, determining that the use of the term was 'genuinely relevant' to the issues raised by a biologically male goalkeeper competing for a female football team. Hamilton was due to give evidence at Canterbury County Court as it emerged a crowdfunding campaign launched by the EBPF to fund its defence of Haynes's lawsuit had almost doubled since Telegraph Sport highlighted it. Having raised more than £6,600 by Wednesday morning, the figure on the Go Get Funding website had climbed to more than £12,300 by the same time on Thursday. On a page entitled, 'Help us defend our female Blackball competitions from litigation', the EBPF described itself as a 'non profit' sports federation 'wholly run by volunteers', adding: 'The cost of defending our stance for fair play will be substantial and possibly prove beyond our means.' The page was created by the EBPF's chairman, Paul Thomson, and secretary, Anna Goodwin, who were in court on Tuesday defending its position. What is thought to be the first lawsuit of its kind brought by a trans athlete in the UK could prove a landmark case in pool and beyond, over rules designed to stop those born male taking part in female-only competitions. A hearing began on Monday, the day after Haynes and Lucy Smith faced off in the Ultimate Pool Women's Pro Series Event 2 at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan on Sunday. Haynes is able to play in some tournaments in the UK and internationally, but is unable to play in ladies' events run by the EBPF. The match in Wigan witnessed protests from demonstrators who shouted, 'He's a man and we stand with Lynne Pinches', and held up banners saying, 'Save women's sport', and, 'He's a man', as Haynes walked past. Pinches is the player who forfeited a 2023 final in protest at Haynes's participation and is part of a separate legal action against the Ultimate Pool Group and World Eightball Pool Federation over their refusal to ban trans women from their own events. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
10-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Transgender goalkeeper called as witness in pool's landmark case
The transgender goalkeeper whose involvement in women's football has caused a storm has been called as an expert witness by the pool player suing a federation for banning her from its female tour. Blair Hamilton, who is also an academic affiliated with Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Brighton, and the Tavistock NHS Gender Identity Clinic, was due to give evidence on Thursday in Harriet Haynes' lawsuit against the English Blackball Pool Federation (EBPF). Hamilton was called by Haynes, who is suing the EBPF after it changed its eligibility criteria in August 2023 to stop those born male playing on its female tour and county tournaments. The case is being heard this week at Canterbury County Court, with Haynes claiming the EBPF's move amounted to discrimination that had caused her a 'loss of opportunity' and 'injured feelings'. Hamilton has become a lightning rod in a growing furore about the Football Association's refusal to ban trans women from the English game. In August, Telegraph Sport reported how Sutton United, who appointed Lucy Clark as the first trans manager in the top-five tiers of the English female game, had ignited controversy by signing Hamilton for their women's team. Hamilton was recruited by Clark despite having previously drawn criticism from women's rights groups for taking the place of a female goalkeeper. The news led to Sutton abruptly postponing their scheduled match at Ebbsfleet United amid mounting anger over their signing of a biological male. Hamilton subsequently complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) about Telegraph Sport's coverage, alleging the label 'biological male' constituted a 'transphobic dog whistle'. But, last month, the press watchdog rejected this complaint, determining that the use of the term was 'genuinely relevant' to the issues raised by a biologically male goalkeeper competing for a female football team. Hamilton was due to give evidence at Canterbury County Court as it emerged a crowdfunding campaign launched by the EBPF to fund its defence of Haynes's lawsuit had almost doubled since Telegraph Sport highlighted it. Having raised more than £6,600 by Wednesday morning, the figure on the Go Get Funding website had climbed to more than £12,300 by the same time on Thursday. On a page entitled, 'Help us defend our female Blackball competitions from litigation', the EBPF described itself as a 'non profit' sports federation 'wholly run by volunteers', adding: 'The cost of defending our stance for fair play will be substantial and possibly prove beyond our means.' The page was created by the EBPF's chairman, Paul Thomson, and secretary, Anna Goodwin, who were in court on Tuesday defending its position. What is thought to be the first lawsuit of its kind brought by a trans athlete in the UK could prove a landmark case in pool and beyond, over rules designed to stop those born male taking part in female-only competitions. A hearing began on Monday, the day after Haynes and Lucy Smith faced off in the Ultimate Pool Women's Pro Series Event 2 at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan on Sunday. Their match witnessed protests from demonstrators who shouted, 'He's a man and we stand with Lynne Pinches', and held up banners saying, 'Save women's sport', and, 'He's a man', as Haynes walked past.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pool body sued by transgender player forced to crowdfund money for defence
A pool federation being sued by a transgender player it banned from women's events is crowdfunding to pay for its defence. The English Blackball Pool Federation (EBPF) says the legal costs involved would 'possibly prove beyond our means'. Harriet Haynes has taken the EBPF to court after it changed its eligibility criteria in August 2023 to stop those born male playing on its female tour and in its county tournaments. The case is being heard this week at Canterbury County Court, with Haynes claiming the EBPF's move amounted to discrimination that had caused her a 'loss of opportunity' and 'injured feelings'. The EBPF launched a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for its defence on the Go Get Funding website – and had raised more than £6,600 by Wednesday morning. On a page entitled 'Help us defend our female blackball competitions from litigation', the EBPF described itself as a 'non-profit' sports federation 'wholly run by volunteers'. Stating 'the cost of defending our stance for fair play will be substantial and possibly prove beyond our means', it added of its rule change: 'We made this decision in the interests of fairness, because we believe that people who have gone through male puberty have a competitive advantage over biological women. 'As a consequence of this decision, we are being sued by the transgender player Harriet Haynes. Harriet says that the eligibility rules for the female tour are discriminatory on the grounds of gender reassignment. We say that the rules are necessary to secure fair competition and a justified means of promoting female participation in the game. 'We are disappointed that Harriet has chosen to sue an organisation made up entirely of volunteers who give up their time to promote the game of pool in England, but we stand by our decision, and we intend to defend the claim.' The crowdfunding page was created by the EBPF's chairman, Paul Thomson, and secretary, Anna Goodwin, who were in court on Tuesday defending its position. Thomson told Canterbury County Court that the governing body made its decision following an 'unreal' number of complaints from players. The court was told that about 15 to 20 anonymous written complaints had been passed to Goodwin but Thomson said many more had been raised personally with members of the EBPF's executive committee. Thomson also said that Haynes was not allowed to play in EBPF events purely because of 'the fact Harriet is a biological male'. He explained: 'I think the subject was kind of taboo to a certain degree. In this day and age, you can't come out and say what you want to say, because you get called a bigot or transphobic.' When asked by Haynes's counsel, Robin White, why he had not consulted with transgender players before changing the EBPF's rules, Thomson replied: 'What about the hundreds and hundreds of other women that it affected, am I just supposed to ignore that? 'We had loads of complaints. The amount of complaints was unreal.' He added: 'As a pool player, I know that males are far superior than what women are at playing pool.' Goodwin told the court the EBPF's men's category was made into an 'open section' to make it inclusive of all those born male. She said the decision had been made 'because we didn't think it was fair on our female players', adding: 'We didn't exclude transgender people. We made a section in the open section for them to play.' What is thought to be the first lawsuit of its kind brought by a transgender athlete in the UK could prove a landmark case in pool and beyond over rules designed to stop those born male taking part in female-only competitions. A hearing began on Monday, the day after Haynes and Lucy Smith, who is also transgender, faced off in the Ultimate Pool Women's Pro Series Event 2 at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan on Sunday. Their match prompted protests from demonstrators who shouted, 'He's a man and we stand stand with Lynne Pinches', and held up banners saying 'Save women's sport' and 'He's a man' as Haynes walked past. Credit: X / @JeanHatchet Pinches is the player who forfeited a 2023 final in protest at the participation of Haynes and is part of a separate legal action against the Ultimate Pool Group and World Eightball Pool Federation over their refusal to ban transgender women from their own events. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Pool body sued by transgender player forced to crowdfund money for defence
A pool federation being sued by a transgender player it banned from women's events is crowdfunding to pay for its defence, stating the cost involved would 'possibly prove beyond our means'. Harriet Haynes has taken the English Blackpool Pool Federation (EBPF) to court after it changed its eligibility criteria in August 2023 to stop those born male playing on its female tour and county tournaments. The case is being heard this week at Canterbury county court, with Haynes claiming the EBPF's move amounted to discrimination that had caused her a 'loss of opportunity' and 'injured feelings'. The EBPF launched a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for its defence on the Go Get Funding website, something that had raised more than £6,600 by Wednesday morning. On a page entitled, 'Help us defend our female Blackball competitions from litigation', the EBPF described itself as a 'non profit' sports federation 'wholly run by volunteers'. Stating 'the cost of defending our stance for fair play will be substantial and possibly prove beyond our means', it added of its rule change: 'We made this decision in the interests of fairness, because we believe that people who have gone through male puberty have a competitive advantage over biological women. 'As a consequence of this decision, we are being sued by the transgender player Harriet Haynes. Harriet says that the eligibility rules for the female tour are discriminatory on the grounds of gender reassignment. We say that the rules are necessary to secure fair competition and a justified means of promoting female participation in the game. 'We are disappointed that Harriet has chosen to sue an organisation made up entirely of volunteers who give up their time to promote the game of pool in England, but we stand by our decision, and we intend to defend the claim.' The page was created by the EBPF's chairman, Paul Thomson, and secretary, Anna Goodwin, who were in court on Tuesday defending its position. Thomson told Canterbury county court that the governing body made its decision following an 'unreal' number of complaints from players. The court was told around 15-20 anonymous written complaints had been passed to Goodwin but Thomson said many more had been raised personally with members of the EBPF's executive committee. He also said Haynes was not allowed to play in EBPF events purely because of 'the fact Harriet is a biological male'. He explained: 'I think the subject was kind of taboo to a certain degree. In this day and age, you can't come out and say what you want to say, because you get called a bigot or transphobic.' When asked by Haynes' counsel, Robin White, why he had not consulted with transgender players before changing the EBPF's rules, Thomson replied: 'What about the hundreds and hundreds of other women that it affected, am I just supposed to ignore that? 'We had loads of complaints. The amount of complaints was unreal.' He added: 'As a pool player, I know that males are far superior than what women are at playing pool.' Goodwin told the court the EBPF's men's category was made into an 'open section' to make it inclusive of all those born male. She said the decision had been made 'because we didn't think it was fair on our female players', adding: 'We didn't exclude transgender people. We made a section in the open section for them to play.' What is thought to be the first lawsuit of its kind brought by a transgender athlete in the UK could prove a landmark case in pool and beyond over rules designed to stop those born male taking part in female-only competitions. A hearing began on Monday, the day after Haynes and Lucy Smith faced off in the Ultimate Pool Women's Pro Series Event 2 at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan on Sunday. Their match witnessed protests from demonstrators who shouted, 'He's a man and we stand stand with Lynne Pinches', and held up banners saying, 'Save women's sport', and, 'He's a man', as Haynes walked past. Pinches is the player who forfeited a 2023 final in protest at the participation of Haynes and is part of a separate legal action against the Ultimate Pool Group and World Eightball Pool Federation over their refusal to ban transgender women from their own events.
