JK Rowling has launched a stinging attack on the BBC's handling of women's rights and issues of gender.
It follows soon-to-be BBC director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski blocking tennis icon Martina Navratilova and Sharron Davies, a 12-time Olympic medalist in swimming for Team GB, on social media.
Both former athletes have been vocal about their views that transgender women should not be competing alongside people who were born women, with concerns raised that there will no longer be a level playing field.
Kay-Jelski, currently of The Athletic, is quoted as saying neither Navratilova or Davies are 'experts', as he compared excluding transgender athletes from women's sports to excluding Jamaican or Ethiopian women.
This is pretty pathetic- never heard of this man, looked him up here and found myself blocked. Once again, good to know that men apparently know what women like myself and Sharron know about biology and sports etc. Just amazing to be this confident, no? https://t.co/PeYjqHFa2W
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) June 10, 2024
An extract from his piece in the Times reads: "She [Davies] and Martina Navratilova are important, influential voices who speak for many women on this topic. They, like most of us, are not experts though.
"And while it's important to hear and respect people's views, I disagree and worry a circus is being created out of something that is a) not a huge problem in sport and b) further marginalises totally unthreatening people and creates a fear around them."
Navratilova was aghast to discover Kay-Jelski's thoughts on the matter, as she confirmed to a user online that she'd been blocked by him.
"This is pretty pathetic," she wrote on X. "Never heard of this man, looked him up here and found myself blocked.
"Once again, good to know that men apparently know what women like myself and Sharron know about biology and sports, etc. Just amazing to be this confident, no?"
It was here that Harry Potter author Rowling - whose views on the topic of women's rights and gender ideology have been well-documented - took aim at the soon-to-be director of sport at BBC.
She responded to Navratilova's post: "I'd say it's unbelievable for a man in his position to say these things at all, let alone block you, and yet, given the shameful state of the BBC's reporting on women's right/gender issue, it's utterly predictable."
