To think that Martina Navratilova should NOT lose her job at the BBC and that the BBC is biased?

[TeamNavratilova]

On Sunday, Martina Navratilova had an article published in the Sunday Times, giving her views on the inclusion of transwomen (biological males who identify as being women) in women’s sport:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-rules-on-trans-athletes-reward-cheats-and-punish-the-innocent-klsrq6h3x?shareToken=45bc9997e063aaf79646a7f12a7363a6

The BBC subsequently decided to have a discussion item on this on 5 Live and invited Dr Nicola Williams from Fair Play for Women - fairplayforwomen.com - to speak on Martina’s side of the argument along with Rachel McKinnon (a male-bodied cyclist who identifies as a woman and now holds a cycling world title in women’s cycling).

Rachel McKinnon refused to appear on the show if Dr Williams was on so the BBC’s response was to uninvite Dr Williams and instead interview Rachel McKinnon along with another trans sportsperson who agreed with Rachel. The other side of the argument (along with all facts about the physical differences between male and female bodies which Dr Williams could have provided) was not covered and both interviewees were asked (on the BBC, by a BBC presenter) whether the BBC should fire Martina to which they both replied yes: twitter.com/fairplaywomen/status/1097417280084951040 McKinnon has continued to argue for this online.

AIBU to think that Martina should not lose her commentating job at the BBC for expressing her (considered, researched) views and that the BBC has behaved in a biased and unethical way, firstly, by only presenting one side of an argument on a discussion show and, secondly, by using the opportunity to put forward the idea that Martina should be sacked?

Of course she shouldn't be fired , the very idea is absurd. The attempts at censorship and thought policing are becoming very blatant now. Every aspect of public life should be open to discussion and scrutiny.
Well done Martina, Sharron Davies, and everyone else who is speaking up on this issue.

Absolutely pathetic. Well done Martina.

The BBC website article has two photos of Martina and none of RM. They have said RM won a world championship without specifying it was a women's race. Overwhelmingly support has been for Martina but that isn't how the BBC have reported it.

They know it's all a load of tosh and if they reported it correctly they'd peak trans a lot of people.

The BBC is becoming unbelievably corrupt and is complicit in supporting a cheating scumbag.

Complaint submitted to BBC & also Points of View. Don't think you can complain to OffCom without first going through the BBC

YANBU what she said was entirely fair. The BBC should have had a balanced discussion or not done so at all.

twitter.com/LizzieSimmonds1/status/1098182893451526144

Lizzie Simmonds and Dame Kelly Holmes have joined in the debate

twitter.com/damekellyholmes/status/1098167185065820160

Paula Radcliffe

@paulajradcliffe
Replying to @PetesyWalsh
Transgender is different and I understand Navratilova’s point. If you are born and grow up male you cannot be allowed to compete in female sports simply because you ‘identify’ as female. It makes a mockery of the definitions of male and female sports categories.

The ball is rolling.

The next step is to stop this nonsense being taught in our schools (that you can magically change sex). Have a look on your childs’ school website where they should publish their safeguarding policies. I’ll bet the majority (like my child’s school) will have links to Mermaids, Stonewall etc. In a lot of cases the schools have just copied and pasted guidance from their LA which several people have already shown has not been subject to any scrutiny at all.

twitter.com/ChrissieEvert/status/1098231301293989888?s=19

I've just seen Chris Everett tweet in support of looking into the issue so at least some research is being done finally

Excellent response to Evert:

"Females have a right to sex-segregated sports, Chris. It is blatantly unfair & dangerous for women to be forced to compete against biological males. You & Martina wouldn't have won any titles if you had to compete against Borg & McEnroe."

So my response from the BBC was a short email to say that guests don't get to dictate guests and Dr Williams was invited on but chose not to go.

You & Martina wouldn't have won any titles if you had to compete against Borg & McEnroe."

Or Jimmy Connors, to whom Evert was once engaged.

So my response from the BBC was a short email to say that guests don't get to dictate guests and Dr Williams was invited on but chose not to go

Can you forward that to Nic Williams? Scrub your details out of course...

@reboot - but a guest did dictate a guest, and Dr Williams was uninvited, rather than declined... so the BBC are lying?

My email said the same that Nicola William initially agreed but then dropped out but that "the offer remains open"

@Mrscaindingle
My email from the BBC said exactly the same. Seems BBC are trotting out the same reply. Hmm

Good to know you have had replies to your complaints, I await mine.

The programme producer would have an email trail on this so there would be proof of a guest being invited on and then cancelled, although that might have been a phone call. I see no reason why Dr N would lie so it's very likely the BBC are lying and Ofcom will have another round of complaints to deal with very soon.

I got the same email and Nic is very much aware of the emails that we all received.

I also received the same response from the bbc.

Athlete Ally dropped Navratilova for her comments. AA is a LGBT+ inclusive sports body. Emphasis on the “T” having now adopted trans inclusionary policies. www.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/11642666/martina-navratilova-dropped-by-athlete-ally-over-transgender-athletes-comments

You don’t even need to bring out Borg, McEnroe and Connors. Bobby Riggs was 55 when he beat Margaret Court and lost to Billie Jean King. Any male in the top 500 would beat Serena Williams.

There was a great thread on Twitter where someone had dug into competitive times for the 100m. The upshot is that if you put the current women’s 100m champion up against men, she would be ranked something like 1877th in the world.

There are teenage boys (granted they are athletes in training, not just any old teenager plucked off the street) that regularly run 100m in competition faster than the reigning women’s champion.

I looked at some things myself, in 2018 at the London Marathon alone ELEVEN men finished in a time faster than Paula Radcliffe’s world record that was set in 2003. That’s eleven men in just one marathon in one year.

Of course there’s no competitive advantage 🤔

I don't find this Serena/Paula would be beaten by xxx men helpful. I am not sure that any male in the top 500 would beat Serena - there is a huge gap between the leading 10 men or so in tennis, (it used to be the top 4 with Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Murray) and the rest of the field.

In a local half marathon, the first man in was 10 minutes clear of the rest of the field, followed by a half dozen more in the next 5 minutes after that. The first woman came in 15 minutes after the first man, and significantly faster than most of the field, either men or women. (I was with a friend who noted that most women who ran fast had small boobs. It doesn't work the other way, small boobs don't necessarily make you run fast .)

Apart from that, of course men have a competitive advantage in those sports where brute strength is required.

I got that same response from the BBC

I don't find this Serena/Paula would be beaten by xxx men helpful

I think it illustrates the point well. It's also clear evidence for the loons who say women should just try harder.

In athletics, where time is the only outcome and power is the main factor, the difference is enormous and obvious. Thousands of men get faster times than world champion women, including some 14 YOs.