Woman recovering from cancer sues Moonee Ponds Bowls Club after demotion

A woman recovering from cancer is locked in a bitter legal stoush with Moonee Ponds Bowls Club after she was allegedly told her diagnosis made her too “unreliable” to compete.

Seasoned bowler Darlene Badenoch, 53, is involved in an ugly spat with Moonee Ponds Bowls Club after she was demoted several divisions while battling cancer. Picture: Mark Stewart

A woman recovering from cancer is locked in a bitter legal stoush with a bowls club after she was allegedly told her diagnosis made her too “unreliable” to compete.

Seasoned bowler Darlene Badenoch, 53, has been embroiled in an ugly spat with Moonee Ponds Bowls Club after she was demoted several divisions, claiming the club had dropped her because of her illness.

When negotiations between the parties stalled, Ms Badenoch escalated the matter to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, seeking $5000 and an apology from the club.

Ms Badenoch told the Herald Sun being dropped had been “worse” than being diagnosed with follicular lymphoma months earlier.

“Bowls has gotten me through so many things,” she said.

“When you’re having a week of blood tests, chemo and scans … those days after it you’re bloated, you’re constipated, you’re sick, you’re vomiting and you can’t eat.

“I’d get to bowls and it was like I never had cancer.”

Ms Badenoch is seeking $5000 and an apology from the club. Picture: Mark Stewart

Having been a member of the Moonee Ponds Bowls Club for many years as a lead bowler in their top division, Ms Badenoch had taken time away from the club and the sport to undergo chemotherapy part way through the 2022-2023 season.

In remission and ready to compete for finals in division five, the 53-year-old said she was blindsided by a call from the club in early 2023.

“I got a phone call from a selector saying that I had been demoted to division seven … 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,” she said.

Angry, upset and emotional, Ms Badenoch pleaded with the selector not to drop her, arguing she was fit and able to play.

“I said ‘don’t do this to me’, I begged him ‘please just give me a game, I’m playing well,’” she added.

Ms Badenoch said being dropped was “worse” than being diagnosed with cancer. Picture: Mark Stewart

At a two-day hearing late last year, a tribunal heard “extraordinary” accusations made against both parties, including allegations of discrimination, falsified witness statements and blackmail.

The tribunal heard Ms Badenoch had been summoned to a meeting with club officials on February 4, days after the call from a selector, where they reiterated their decision to demote her.

Ms Badenoch allegedly swore and cursed out those behind the decision before storming out of the club.

“I was distraught, I was having chemo … bowls was my outlet,” she told the tribunal.

“I couldn’t even think when I got out of there.”

Ms Badenoch alleges she was told she was too “unreliable” to play during the meeting and had therefore been discriminated against because of her illness.

“You can’t tell somebody they can’t play, that they are unreliable because they have cancer,” she told the tribunal.

In the club’s defence, MPBC secretary Jozsef Salik told the tribunal the decision to demote Ms Badenoch was part of the club’s strategy – if she had followed it – to make her eligible for finals by demoting her to division seven.

They claimed it would have been to her “advantage” given the limited amount of games she had played in division five.

Ms Badenoch is now playing in the top division for a rival club. Picture: Mark Stewart

Following the fiery meeting on February 4, the tribunal heard the bowls club had emailed Ms Badenoch requesting she apologise for her outburst at club officials, otherwise they would not progress with mediation.

Ms Badenoch told the tribunal the request for an apology was a form of blackmail, adding it was at that point she decided to escalate the matter to VCAT.

Mr Salik questioned the validity of witness statements provided by Ms Badenoch’s sister and son, asking if they had written them themselves.

Both told the tribunal they had.

Since the hearing last year, Ms Badenoch has taken her talents to rival outfit Moonee Valley Bowls Club where she is competing in the club’s top division – division two.

“I wanted to stay loyal but then they went and did that, I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

“I was one of their top leads in division two before I got cancer and the way they treated me was just awful.”

Both Ms Badenoch and the Moonee Ponds Bowls Club will have to wait several more weeks before Senior Member Bernadette Steele is set to hand down her verdict.