Luke Humphries has invited 14-year-old Alex McGarrie, who has autism, to watch Premier League Darts in Manchester next month and after learning that he was being bullied in school
Luke Humphries has explained why he became an anti-bullying champion and made a stand against playground tyrants. In an inspired move, Cool Hand Luke has organised a VIP night out for an autistic darts fan from Stockport who was so badly beaten that his parents took him out of school.
Humphries was so shocked by Alex McGarrie’s ordeal that he has promised the 14-year-old Hazel Grove pupil a backstage meet-and-greet with world champion Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and the Premier League cast at Manchester’s AO Arena next month.
The world No.1 explained: “I got tagged in something on social media and I clicked on the link to read about it. Obviously, the standard of bullying he has suffered seemed quite excessive. That could really get someone down.
“There’s some horrible stories over the years of people being bullied and they end up killing themselves or stuff like that, so if you can help someone out in any way physically possible, you just do it. Look, I can’t help everyone out – I get lots of messages from people saying, ‘I’m struggling with my health, can I get tickets?’
READ MORE: Luke Littler admits taking week off before hitting nine-darter in Premier League winREAD MORE: Sky Sports commentator opens up on condition that left him in tears – ‘This could be the end’
“But I’m doing this for a young kid because I don’t want him to think that all people in the world are negative and I want to give him a little bit of hope. Hopefully this is something that he can enjoy, maybe put a smile on his face again, because he’s not going to school at the moment – his mum and dad have take him out – and he’s pretty feeling glum at the moment.
“I’ve asked his dad who’s his favourite player. I think Luke Littler is his inspiration, so I’m going to try and get a signed shirt off Luke. Then obviously he’s going to meet all the players and the PDC have kindly given him some tickets as well. It’s all in place.
“Maybe some of the bullies are darts fans and they will see him having a great time because money can’t buy this type of thing. I just hope some good comes out of it – I’d rather they didn’t bully him and he didn’t have to go through this.
“But, hopefully, it gives him a bit of hope. We’ll make sure we give him some support and look after him because, obviously, bullies have no place.”
Who’ll win the 2025 Premier League Darts title? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
Former world champion Humphries is a class act who rarely falls out with rival players. He was taken aback by James Wade’s behaviour in their frosty UK Open semi-final in Minehead earlier this month, when the ‘Machine’ bizarrely licked his opponent on the neck – which may yet exercise disciplinary watchdogs at the Darts Regulation Authority.
Asked if he had kissed and made up with Wade, Humphries said: “Yes – there’s not a lot more I can say about it. There’s water under the bridge now. You see each other the next week on the circuit and we’re fine. These things happen in darts. We’ve seen it many, many times over the years where two players have had a disagreement and they’re friends again. So, yeah, we’re fine now.”
To underline their truce, Humphries has signed up to appear at Wade’s charity event Let’s Talk Bipolar in Hampshire on August 22.
