Monday, September 14, 2026
Column 724
The Soulger. the Showman and the Man Behind the Dance
Let’s get the uncomfortable part out of the way first.
I have said Leonard Gates should be banned from darts. I said it publicly. I meant it. But how Gates’ behavior might be dealt with is up to the various darts governing bodies. To date I have seen no action. That is wrong.
My objection has never been to Leonard Gates, the darts player. Gates is one of the most accomplished American players of the modern era – and unquestionably one of the most entertaining.
My objection concerns Leonard Gates when the television cameras are off: the dismissiveness, the disrespect and what appears to be a belief that playing great darts excuses treating people poorly.
It doesn’t.
But fairness requires an important distinction.
Leonard Gates should not be disciplined because I dislike him. He should not be disciplined because he refused to shake somebody’s hand, declined an autograph or behaved like an ass – if that is somebody’s considered opinion. It is the governing bodies’ responsibility to discipline a player only when credible evidence establishes that specific conduct has violated a published rule. That distinction matters. It protects Gates. It protects every other player.
It even protects loudmouthed darts columnists.
So, is there sufficient cause to discipline Leonard Gates? Some may consider that debatable. I do not. But my opinion doesn’t matter. Again – this can’t be stressed strongly enough – that responsibility belongs to the appropriate governing bodies after they have examined the complaints, heard Gates’ response and applied their rules fairly.
And make no mistake, those rules do not exist solely to police what happens during a televised match. The Darts Regulation Authority describes its purpose as protecting the good name of darts for players, officials, sponsors, media, fans and spectators. Other organizations have similar expectations concerning sportsmanship and conduct capable of damaging the game’s reputation. That responsibility does not begin when a player steps onto the oche and magically disappear when the cameras switch off.
“Bringing the sport into disrepute” is not supposed to be a grand-sounding collection of words placed in a rulebook for decoration. It means conduct that damages – or is reasonably capable of damaging – the reputation of the sport. It represents the very essence of the rules.
In my view, the countless firsthand accounts of Gates’ treatment of other players, supporters and children, repeated by so many people over many years, warrant more than a shrug. They warrant action.
Gates may insist that he represents only himself. He’s entitled to think whatever he wants. But that is not how sport – or public perception – works. When John Part walked onto a world stage, people saw a Canadian. When Larry Butler won the inaugural World Matchplay, people saw an American. When Barry Twomlow and Eddie Norman traveled the world, they understood that they were ambassadors for the sport. A player is not the sole arbiter of what he represents. The audience makes that decision too.
Leonard Gates is recognized internationally as an American darts player. He has represented the United States at the World Cup. He won the North American Championship. When he plays at Alexandra Palace, the Stars and Stripes appears beside his name. There can be no debate – how Gates acts does reflect on American darts. And world darts.
Recently, I entered a sprawling online discussion and repeated my belief that Gates should be banned for bringing the sport into disrepute. Gates responded: “He feels he’s entitled to think I need to be what he wants me to be sounds like someone thinks it’s still SLAVERY DAYS!” He then wrote: “I don’t represent USA in darting.”
The second assertion is difficult to reconcile with his career. Gates has competed around the world as an American and has officially represented the United States.
The first stopped me cold. Slavery? Seriously?
Criticizing a prominent athlete’s conduct is not remotely equivalent to claiming ownership over him. I do not believe Leonard Gates must become “what I want him to be.” I just believe every player – white, Black, American, Canadian, English, Martian or otherwise – should be a positive representative of our sport.
That is not ownership. It is an opinion. And unless something fairly dramatic happened to the First Amendment while I was asleep, I am entitled to it. Gates is equally entitled to tell me where I may carefully place that opinion.
What troubled me was his decision to answer criticism of his behavior by invoking one of history’s greatest atrocities. It did not address the criticism. It racialized it, escalated it and diverted attention from the question of his conduct.
But fairness cuts both ways.
If Gates believed my words carried a racial undertone, he had every right to say so. I cannot dictate how another person interprets my criticism or what life experiences they bring to it.
I can only state clearly what I meant.
Race has nothing to do with my objection. Nothing. My standard for Leonard Gates is the same standard I would apply to Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Luke Littler – or the bloke throwing 41s on Board 17 at the local pub.
Talent earns applause. It does not purchase immunity. And at the line Leonard Gates has earned an enormous amount of applause.
Before becoming an international darts star, Gates played professional independent-league baseball for the Abilene Prairie Dogs, Massachusetts Mad Dogs, Catskill Cougars and Nashua Pride. That alone makes his journey remarkable.
Most darts players progress from throwing in a pub to throwing in a larger pub and – for a select few – throwing in front of television cameras. Gates came by way of professional baseball, soft-tip darts and the American tournament circuit. He became one of the world’s most formidable soft-tip players before much of the steel-tip television audience knew his name. The hand-eye coordination, competitive instincts and comfort before a crowd traveled naturally from the diamond to the oche.
Then came New York in 2022. At the US Darts Masters, Gates defeated Fallon Sherrock 6–2 before losing to Peter Wright in the quarterfinals. During the same weekend, he won the North American Championship, beating Jules van Dongen, David Cameron and Danny Baggish. The victory sent him to the Grand Slam of Darts and the PDC World Championship. He was no longer merely an interesting American qualifier. He had arrived.
Then, in 2023, Gates took possession of the World Seniors circuit and apparently refused to return it. He won the Champion of Champions, World Seniors Masters and World Seniors Matchplay – three televised titles in one year. That is not hype. That is history.
Gates has also reached the second round in each of his three PDC World Championship appearances, defeating Geert Nentjes, Cameron Menzies and Mickey Mansell. At the 2024 UK Open, after qualifying through Rileys, he won three matches before Martin Lukeman stopped him in the last 64. He won the 2024 CDC Continental Cup. He has amassed a pile of CDC titles and established himself as one of the circuit’s defining players. He has been ranked near the top of the WDF standings. And in November 2023, he threw a televised nine-darter in the MODUS Super Series: 180, 180, then t20, t19 and d12. Not too shabby for a fellow who turned 55 last November.
Then there is the dancing…
Gates enters to “Too Hot ta Trot” by the Commodores, which is appropriate because he does not so much walk onto a stage as arrive at a family reunion after discovering somebody has left the dance floor unattended. The cameras love it. The crowds love it.
I enjoy it. There, I said that too.
The dancing is not a gimmick disguising an ordinary player. Gates is a genuine showman who can back it up. His personality attracts attention, but his darts keep earning the invitations.
That combination matters – particularly in North America, where darts continues to struggle for mainstream attention.
Gates gives promoters something every sport desperately needs: A reason to watch.
Absolutely, he belongs in the upper tier of American players. Larry Butler remains unique as the only American to win a major PDC title, taking the inaugural World Matchplay in 1994. Darin Young made repeated appearances on the world stage. Danny Baggish, Jules van Dongen, Stowe Buntz, Alex Spellman and others have produced significant international performances.
Yes, Gates’ résumé is unusually broad: North American champion, three televised World Seniors titles, record-setting CDC success, three PDC World Championship appearances, excellence in both steel-tip and soft-tip, a televised nine-darter, genuine international crowd appeal. Had he entered elite steel-tip darts earlier – or lived where he could compete weekly on the PDC circuit- he might have achieved even more.
So where does that leave us?
With two Leonard Gates, perhaps.
There is the Soulger under the lights: smiling, dancing, captivating crowds and throwing darts that have made him one of America’s finest. Then there is the man described in numerous accounts when the cameras are off: defensive, dismissive, disrespectful.
I have formed a strong opinion of that second Leonard Gates.
I believe top players have a responsibility – an obligation – to the sport and its future to treat opponents, organizers, supporters and children decently. I believe conduct away from the oche matters.
And, based on the overwhelming pattern of reported behavior, I am convinced there is more than sufficient cause for the governing bodies to take some sort of action. A fine, a formal warning, a ban or suspended ban.
Others will disagree. Fair enough. The appropriate sanction can be debated. The need to examine the problem should not be.
As riddled as darts forums are with accounts from people who say they have experienced or witnessed Gates’ conduct, online allegations are not automatically facts, and repetition alone does not make every story true. Gates is entitled to hear the specific complaints, challenge them and offer his side.
But when similar accounts accumulate over years, the governing bodies cannot responsibly pretend they do not exist simply because the alleged incidents occurred beyond the television lights.
Gates should be called before the appropriate authorities, presented with the complaints and given the opportunity to respond. If the allegations are substantiated, he should, at the very least, be formally warned that further misconduct could jeopardize his eligibility to compete.
A suspension may be justified. Given the abundance of reports, I maintain it is. But it must result from evidence, due process and a fair application of the rules – not based in any way on my opinion or anybody’s social media fury.
If “bringing the sport into disrepute” applies only when a player misbehaves onstage, in full view of the cameras, the rule says far less than its authors presumably intended. And if repeated conduct capable of damaging the sport’s reputation brings neither scrutiny nor consequence, then “disrepute” is merely a pompous word occupying space in a rulebook.
Leonard Gates does not have to be the man darts deserves. But international recognition brings more than trophies, appearance fees and applause. It brings scrutiny and responsibility – particularly when the spectators include families and children who regard the players onstage as heroes. The children of today may become the champions of tomorrow – they deserve to be encouraged, not dismissed.
Gates has spent years proving that the Soulger deserves his place beneath the lights. It’s long past time that the governing bodies evaluate whether the man behind the dance is living up to the responsibilities that come with it.
But whatever happens, somethings are certain…
Eventually, the music will stop.
The dances will end.
The cameras will switch off.
And only character will remain.
Stay thirsty, my friends.
Dartoid
