Female Pool Player Forfeits Tournament Instead of Competing Against Transgender Opponent

Billiard eight ball on green tapestry and more balls in the backgrownd
Jesus Cabeza Garcia
Paul Bois

A female pool player recently forfeited a tournament upon realizing she would be facing off with a transgender opponent – a man who identifies as a woman.

Lynne Pinches made it all the way to the finals at the English Pool Association’s 2023 Champion of Champions Ladies on Sunday and opted to forfeit in protest of competing against a transgender named Harriet Haynes.

“A video of the moment shows that Pinches and Haynes vied to see who would break,” noted the New York Post.  “Pinches won and shook hands with Haynes but then walked toward the tournament official and apparently declared a forfeit.”

“Pinches proceeded to unscrew her pool cue and pack it up as Haynes raised her hands in disbelief,” it added.  “Realizing what was happening, the crowd loudly cheered and applauded Pinches for walking away.”

Pinches’ brother, Barry, celebrated his sister’s decision, saying she stood up for fairness.

“Full credit and great respect to my sister Lynne Pinches yesterday for taking a stand and not playing in the biggest match of her pool playing life because she feels it’s so unfair to have to compete against a trans woman,” Barry Pinches wrote on Facebook.

“I completely agree with her view that it is totally unfair to expect women to compete against trans women in pool or any other sport for that matter,” he added.  “For the record, this post is about fairness in women’s sport, that is all. I have no problem whatsoever if somebody wants to identify themselves as whatever they want to be, and I have nothing against Harriet Haynes.”

While it may seem odd to think that a man has an advantage over women in a precision game like pool, several internet commenters have said that break shots can contribute to an advantage in a given match. One person on Quora said it thusly:

I have owned a billiard parlor in Dallas Texas for over 18 years. Based on my experience, apart from the physical ability to break a rack of balls more effectively, I have seen no other discernible physiological advantage that men have over women in the sport of billiards.

That being said, a more effective break shot, where one or more balls are somewhat randomly pocketed resulting in more shots, can make a big difference in the outcome of a match in certain games such as 10-ball, 9-Ball, or 8-Ball, which are more popular than say One-pocket, Billiards, or Straight Pool where strength in the break shot is not as big a factor. So the answer is yes in certain games and no, in others. I have also seen professional female pool players that will routinely and soundly beat about 99.999 percent of the male pool players in the world, but my money will usually be on the male pro player that plays a female pro player.

Women have begun dropping out of sports competitions in protest of transgenders competing with them.

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.

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