Gerwyn Price may be a divisive figure in the world of darts, but quite a few fans of the sport have come out to defend the Welshman after criticism he received over an interaction he with a member of the public in recent days.
A clip has been doing the rounds on social media of the 39-year old making his way into a venue ahead of a PDC event, where has was greeted by a number of people waiting outside the entrance.
Price was happy to take photos with the fans, although he said he did not want to sign any items after being asked to do so by the person recording the footage. You can watch the exchange below.
This clip of Gerwyn Price is doing the rounds on Facebook and people are raging because he refused to sign something pic.twitter.com/UL5eMTlqeg
— DartsAnonymous (@anonymous_darts) April 7, 2024
While some darts fans have criticised Gerwyn Price over this incident, others have been very supportive of his decision not to sign the merchandise on this occasion.
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Darts fans defend Gerwyn Price after interaction with fan
It has been suggested that the individual recording this footage was someone who intended to get players to sign merchandise, only for it then to be sold online. Such people are commonplace at events, where they often hang around with the hopes of making some handy money by securing high profile autographs.
In such scenarios, it is understandable why professional sportspeople may not want to sign autographs for individuals waiting around with large quantities of merchandise that is likely to be sold on for profit.
That seems to be what was going on with Gerwyn Price here, who was more than happy to take pictures with the genuine fans who asked him to do so. As a result, quite a few darts fans have clapped back at the criticism directed at the player.
Price himself would also respond on social media, explaining his decision. He also said that the incident was recorded without his knowledge.
I'm so happy this has been posted. These people are the reason we don't sign things, and are the people that spoil it for the real darts fans.
What you don't see is hands and bags full of merchandise. Also this guy is filming from a pair of glasses unknown to the players, goes to show what sort of people are out there.
Please share this as he has invaded my personal space and I haven't this person the right to film me and put it on social media. These people turn up at hotels and don't even attend events.
As it turned out, Gerwyn Price was not the only darts player that did not want to sign autographs for this individual.
Michael van Gerwen went down the same route, with the only autograph he signed being of a personalised picture of him and a fan, something you can be fairly certain is not going to end up on eBay at a later date. He even told the autograph hunter 'I know what you do with them' when asked to sign the merchandise.
MVG knows the score when it comes to autograph hunters. https://t.co/QP18vZzi22 pic.twitter.com/xSBqz8lgqM
— DartsAnonymous (@anonymous_darts) April 7, 2024
All things considered, this is a very fair decision.
You certainly can't argue with the logics of the darts stars on this occasion.
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