Devastated woman sues bowls club over bombshell claim she was dropped from their team 'because she has cancer'
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A keen lawn bowler has taken legal action against her local club after claiming she was dropped from teams because officials believe her cancer battle made her too unreliable to compete in top sides. Darlene Badenoch, 53, was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma in September 2022 after doctors found tumours in her neck.
![[Badenoch (pictured at the Moonee Ponds club) was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma in September 2022 and alleges the club said her illness made her 'unreliable']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/00/94414361-14315311-image-m-35_1737592513110.jpg)
She alleges officials at the Moonee Ponds Bowling Club in Melbourne's north - where she spent years as one of the best bowlers in the top division - demoted her several divisions after she took a break to fight the disease in the 2022-2023 season. 'I got a phone call from a selector saying that I had been demoted to division seven,' she alleged in remarks made to News Corp.
![[The Moonee Ponds Bowls Club (pictured) has rejected Badenoch's allegations and claimed officials acted out of concerns for her health]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/00/94414363-14315311-image-a-36_1737592578684.jpg)
'I was devastated, all I wanted to do was play bowls, it's the one thing I had to look forward to at the end of the week. 'I said, "Don't do this to me." I begged him, "Please, just give me a game, I'm playing well."'. Darlene Badenoch (pictured) has sued Melbourne's Moonee Ponds Bowling Club for allegedly dropping her from their team due to her cancer diagnosis.
Badenoch (pictured at the Moonee Ponds club) was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma in September 2022 and alleges the club said her illness made her 'unreliable'. Badenoch took the club to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in 2023, seeking $5000 and an apology for being discriminated against on the basis of her illness.
