Piers Morgan has slammed the Ultimate Pool Group after two transgender women contested the final of a professional women's event in Wigan on Sunday night, calling the situation 'preposterous' and accusing the sport of 'cheating bulls***'.
The broadcaster's comments came after Harriet Haynes defeated Lucy Smith 8-6 in the final of a Women's Pro Series event, one of eight events on the Ultimate Pool Group's 2025 women's circuit.
Both players are transgender, resulting in a wave of criticism on social media - most notably from former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, who described the event as 'b****y ridiculous and grossly wrong in every way' and said sports 'hate their female players to do this'.
It took me a while to figure it out but I think "b****y" must be the blood intensifier.
Sharing an X post from Reduxx Magazine, which claimed 'two men' were facing each other 'for a women's championship title', Morgan added: 'Why anyone supports this cheating bulls*** is utterly beyond me.'
The tournament, held at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, was streamed live on UltimatePool.tv and across social media.
Haynes' path to the title included victories over Megan Proctor and Mary Talbot, while Smith reached the final by knocking out Kirsty-Lee Davies and Danielle Randle.
This is not the first time Haynes has been at the centre of controversy.
In November 2023, she was handed a walkover victory in the Women's Champion of Champions final in Prestatyn after opponent Lynne Pinches refused to play, citing fairness concerns.
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 have a longer reach, 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.'
And if you think men have an advantage over women in billiards, wait till you see the records being smashed in"girls'" track and field.
As Guy Benson quipped on Twitter, oh look -- that thing that never happens has happened again. In one sense, though, this story from Portland, Oregon qualifies as a success story. What else can one call an effort by which a last-place finisher in track meets at the junior varsity level goes on to dominate at the varsity level?
Of course, that's not difficult to achieve when a biological male switches to compete against high-school girls:
Lia Rose, who reportedly used to compete as Zachary, won the high jump at the Portland Interscholastic League Varsity Relays with a height of 4 feet, 8 inches, beating the second-place finisher by two inches.According to athletic.net, while competing against JV boys May 3, 2023, Zachary Rose finished 11th out of 11 competitors with a jump of 4 feet, 6 inches. ...
In 2024, Lia mostly competed against JV boys, with a top finish of second place and a personal record of 5 feet even.
And that's not the first time this season that a biological male has beaten female athletes in Portland. Fox News also notes that Ada Gallagher dominated girls in two races last month:
Lia's victory comes roughly two weeks after Ada Gallagher, a trans track athlete in the Portland area, blew out the competition.Gallagher, a state champion last year, finished at 57.62 in the 400 meters, with Franklin High School's Kinnaly Souphanthong coming in second at 1:05.72. Gallagher's teammate, Quinnan Schaefer, was behind Souphanthong at 1:07.13.
In the 200-meter race, Gallagher finished in first place at 25.76, followed by teammate Addyson Skyles at 27.31.
I keep saying this but if these "girls" sports are going to allow men to compete, then they should be shut down, and girls (and men in wigs) should just compete against men.