Transgender pool player Harriet Haynes has lost her discrimination case against the English Blackball Pool Federation after she was banned from its women’s competitions in 2023. Trans pool player Harriet Haynes was banned from women’s competitions and teams organised by the English Blackball Pool Federation (EBPF) in August of 2023. While the EBPF said at the the time that Haynes would be able to play in the open category (for trans women and men) in order to ensure “equality and fairness for all”, Haynes claimed that the policy discriminated against her on the basis of her gender reassignment – a protected characteristic under 2010’s Equality Act. After a lengthy fight, during which she won the Ultimate Pool Women’s Pro Series Event 2 in Wigan in April, in a final alongside fellow trans player Lucy Smith, Haynes has lost her legal challenge. The BBC report that Haynes argued the ruling was “direct discrimination” against her on the grounds of her gender reassignment – but a court ...