JK Rowling slams BBC’s new director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski after he called tennis star Martina Navratilova and Olympic medalist Sharron Davies ‘not experts’ on trans athletes in female events
JK Rowling took a hit at the BBC‘s new sporting director after he said Martina Navratilova and Sharron Davies were “not experts” on trans athletes in female events.
The Harry Potter The author criticized sports journalist Alex Kay-Jelski after claiming in an article for the Times in 2019 that while the two athletes were “important, influential voices,” they were “not experts” in the field.
Ms Navratilova criticized Mr Kay-Jelski, who she claimed has since blocked her on
Rowling later waded into the line, saying it was “unbelievable for a man in his position to even say these things, let alone stop you.”
She added that it was “completely predictable” that Kay-Jelski had been appointed to the role despite his previous comments “given the shameful state of the BBC’s reporting on women’s rights”.sex problem’.
JK Rowling (pictured) slammed the BBC’s new sports director Alex Kay-Jelski after he said Martina Navratilova and Sharron Davies were ‘not experts’ on trans athletes in female events
Mr Kay-Jelski (pictured) previously claimed in an article for the Times in 2019 that the two athletes, while “important, influential voices”, were “not experts” in the field.
Ms Navratilova (pictured) claimed Mr Kay-Jelski, who previously worked for digital sports subscription service The Athletic, blocked her on
The row was sparked by a post on
In the piece, he claimed that Martina Navratilova and Sharron Davies were “important, influential voices speaking for many women on this topic.” However, like most of us, they are not experts.’
He continued, “And while it’s important to hear and respect people’s opinions, I disagree and worry that a circus is being created out of something that a) isn’t a major problem in sports and b) further marginalizes people and creates a narrative of fear around them.”
The sports journalist went on to say that forcing trans women to compete in female sporting events in their own special category was akin to doing the same against “Jamaican sprinters and Ethiopian marathoners.”
He wrote: ‘It has been suggested that they should compete in their own special category so that there is no sporting advantage.
“What about special categories for Jamaican sprinters and Ethiopian marathoners, whose genetics have shown them to have an advantage over their rivals? Sounds crazy, right? Nasty, even. Indeed.’
Former Olympian Sharron Davies (pictured) is famous for winning the 400m individual medley silver at the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow
Sharron Davies on his way to winning silver at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow
Martina Navratilova pictured with the Wimbledon women’s singles trophy in 1990
Ms Navratilova later backtracked on his comments, writing on X: “This is pretty pathetic. I’ve never heard of this guy, looked him up here and found myself blocked.
‘Once again good to know that men apparently know what women like me and Sharron know about biology, sports etc. Just great to be so confident, isn’t it?’
Rowling also went out of her way to support the former tennis star’s position. She said: ‘I would say it’s unbelievable for a man in his position to even say these things, let alone block you, and yet, given the shameful state of the BBC’s reporting on women’s rights /gender issue, completely predictable. .’
Ms Rowling has been outspoken about her views on gender, stating as much last month female rights are confronted ‘the biggest attack of my life’ by trans activists.
The 58-year-old has been criticized by those on the other side of the gender debate, but said she regrets not speaking out “much sooner” and that she would be “ashamed for the rest of my days” if she head would not protrude above the parapet.
She explained her belief in protecting women’s sex-based rights in an essay to appear in The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht – a forthcoming book about the Scottish fight for women’s rights.
And she said that if she hadn’t spoken out against activism, she would have been “ashamed for the rest of my days.”
Ms Rowling (pictured) has been vocal about her views on gender, claiming last month that women’s rights are facing ‘the biggest attack of my life’ from trans activists
The public takes part in a Let Women Speak protest on April 6, 2024 in Edinburgh
“I had come to believe that the sociopolitical movement that insists that ‘trans women are women’ was neither kind nor tolerant, but in fact deeply misogynistic, regressive, dangerous in some of its objectives and downright authoritarian in its tactics,” Rowling said. , in an excerpt published in the Times.
Her comments came as the Conservatives recently announced new plans to make it easier to ban post-operative trans people from women-only spaces.
The groundbreaking bill proposed by the Conservatives would make this possible transgender women should be banned from entering women-only spaces without legal action.
This includes areas such as male and female hospital wards, rape crisis centres, prison cells and toilets, and competition in women’s sports.
This would apply to transgender women who have undergone reconstructive surgery and to women who have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) stating that they have changed gender.
Such an update to the 2010 legislation, to clarify that ‘sex’ refers to ‘biological sex’, was backed by the UK’s equality watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, in April last year.
Currently, when organizers try to deny transgender women access to women-only spaces, they face legal challenges and charges of discrimination.
The BBC declined to comment.
