Latest news with #KatePhillips
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Trans athlete wins USA Cycling women's event as female opponents protest and speak out
A trans-identifying athlete won a women's cycling event that was officially sanctioned by USA Cycling on Tuesday, prompting female opponents to protest and speak out. The trans athlete, Kate Phillips, won first place at the Lyons Masters National Championships in Wisconsin on Tuesday. Phillips beat out veteran women's cyclist Julie Peterson for the gold, and Peterson then refused to take the podium at the medal ceremony in protest. "You could clearly see the power that he had," Peterson told Fox News Digital about Phillips. Peterson said she wasn't even aware that Phillips had registered for the event until she had already registered herself and even argued with officials about the situation. "If I had known, I wouldn't have spent thousands of dollars in travel and time off work to come and do a race," Peterson said. "I said, 'I don't want to race against a man,' and they quickly scolded me and said 'Oh, you can't call him a man,' and I'm like 'Well, he is a man,' so I was quickly scolded and corrected that it is a woman and I don't even know what to say." Veteran women's cyclist Debbie Milne competed in the Tuesday event, finishing in seventh place. Milne also spoke out against USA Cycling for allowing Phillips to compete. "To be fair to all humans, if we want to say him or her, he was born a biological male, that is a fact," Milne told Fox News Digital. "And that is the thing that makes it an unfair advantage. Whatever has happened after that is a whole different topic. "I've raced for 25 years in conditions that only women can understand. There's a lot that only a born female woman goes through because of the cycles that we have. Even that alone is something that a man-born biological male can never experience. There's nothing that can stimulate that, when you show up to the race and you are at the worst point of the monthly cycle and you know you're at a disadvantage." Milne also said she wasn't aware of the trans athlete's participation ahead of the race. "I totally did not expect this, to drive 13 hours, to come and do a national championship," Milne said. "I had no idea, I'd like to have known that's what the terms were if I came. But that wasn't even made known to me." Fellow veteran women's cyclist Kristina Gray, who did not compete against Phillips on Tuesday, wanted to speak out in support of her female peers because she said she's also had to compete against trans athletes in cycling as an Oregon native. "I have in my last 10 years of racing, I've had to race against biological males, I've been forced to be on the podium with many of them, more recently the last five years," Gray said. "In Oregon, every almost weekend, there is a biological male in our races, every weekend, practically." Fox News Digital has reached out to USA Cycling and Phillips for comment. The USA Cycling transgender eligibility policy allows for biological males to compete in the women's category under certain conditions: Several other Team USA national governing bodies have come under scrutiny for their transgender eligibility policies over the last year. USA Gymnastics removed its transgender eligibility policy this year, and is currently assessing it. "In May, USAG removed its policy to assess compliance with the current legal landscape," read a USA Gymnastics statement provided to Fox News Digital. USA Fencing announced in April that it is preparing to change its gender-eligibility policy, after a viral protest by women's fencer Stephanie Turner sparked mass backlash and federal intervention by protesting a trans opponent. The organization said it is preparing to amend its current policies that allow biological males to compete with women and girls in the event that it is "forced" to change them. USA Track and Field (USATF) official transgender eligibility policy now references the World Athletics guidelines on its official webpage. USATF previously referenced the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s policy, as seen in an archive via Wayback Machine. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 'Hidden' trans cyclist wins a women's race in Wisconsin as devastated beaten rival speaks out
USA Cycling has been accused of hiding the participation of a trans competitor before they won a women's national championship race on Monday. The 55-and-over race held in Wisconsin was eventually won by Kate 'KJ' Phillips, a biological male who has also competed in rugby previously. But fellow competitor Debbie Milne has told the Daily Mail that she believes Phillips' presence in the race was 'hidden' from competitors beforehand, as she was unable to see Phillips' name on the registration for the event. Julie Peterson, who finished second chose to boycott the podium. Milne is not the only person who believes the USAC acted deceptively. Milne, who ultimately finished seventh in the event, said she spent $400 and drove 13 hours from Greenville, South Carolina to attend the race. While she saw a photo from a competitor showing that Phillips had apparently registered on June 16, Milne doesn't believe USAC was 'transparent' and doesn't want to race again until that changes. The Daily Mail has reached out to USAC and Phillips for comment. 'I should have been able to see it. I should have been able to look someone up and decide if I'm even going to make the trip until they get the policies worked out,' she said. 'I'm a board certified sports dietician. It's been established that there's a biological advantage if someone is born male... I love people... But the fact is that the person I raced today was born a biological male. 'And if I had known that, I could at least not just decide that I don't want to invest my money and my time in this, until the policies follow what the science has indicated at this point.' As per the USAC's latest policy on transgender athletes from last year, which separates athletes into Group A and Group B, transgender athletes are allowed to compete under specific guidelines. For Group A (higher-level) athletes, an 'elite athlete fairness evaluation' must be reviewed and approved by an independent medical panel, with athletes having to meet certain testosterone thresholds to compete. For Group B athletes, they must submit a 'self identity verification request', which is reviewed by the organization's technical director. National championships (except for those which are governed by USAC's parent organization, UCI) are treated as Group A events, meaning that Phillips - in theory - would have to qualify as such. Milne, who has been in touch with the Independent Council on Women's Sports (ICONS), said that race organizers did not acknowledge to her or other cyclists afterwards that Phillips' name was seemingly not on the registration, and that she didn't hear an explanation given as to why that happened. The 56-year-old mom, a 27-time Masters national champion, said she observed 'unbelievable strength' from Phillips during the race. 'I started my sprint, and right at the key point for me, I almost made it to the line and [this] KJ, blew past me, blew past me, and that's when all the women began to say, like, "Hey, I know this person. This person actually was born a biological male".' Phillips, whose Instagram bio reads 'sport is for EVERYONE', previously wrote in the comments on a Zwift Insider profile about her that exclusionary 'rhetoric actually hurts women's cycling... it perpetuates patriarchy and misogyny.' 'I have been competing in sports for longer than many other women, 20 years within the IOC guidelines (yeah, I was the 1st US trans athlete under the 2004 IOC rules when I played rugby; I am way proud of that), and sadly the uptick in pushback came when gay marriage was no longer the issue de jour,' she wrote last year. 'There is a faction out there that just can't stand seeing change. Now the focus is on trans/non-gender conformity, which has hit the list of hyped controversy and hate, and the followers of this thought won't or don't want to take the time to see that there isn't a problem…that MORE women (WTFNB [women, trans, femme and non-binary] included) are better for all sports.' For her part, Milne said that 'every person has value' and insisted she is not 'hateful,' but believes there should be a separate division for trans competitors. She added: 'I want them to feel included, but I think that they need a separate playing field, like a category, you know, a person who wants to race as a woman that was born a biological male. 'If we truly are giving them respect, I would say you can't erase the fact that you were born a biological male. That can't be undone, but you deserve a right to be included in this process of racing your bikes.' Milne, who described herself a fervent studier of the sport's rules, said she previously raced against transgender competitors in the past before rules about their participation were 'settled.' However, she now says she will educate herself more on the 'complicated' topic. Milne said that Phillips displayed 'unbelievable strength' during the race on Monday 'Inclusion is 100% important. And I've always treated everyone I've raced with - when they've been transgender women. I've included them, spoken with them, raced with them, and treated like everyone else. Got mad at them the same I would as any other racer if they cut me off or whatever, I check on them when they crash. 'But I think that it's not fair to a woman who wasn't born with that same advantage. So I want to be in every way is absolutely inclusive to every individual, but I wanna have a separate playing field where it's fair.' Milne's comments come as the University of Pennsylvania agreed to resolve alleged Title IX violations over the school's transgender former swimmer, Lia Thomas. The Department of Education said that the school will ban trans athletes from women's competitions and erase Thomas from the school's record books. Swimmers impacted by Thomas' inclusion in women's NCAA competitions will also receive a personal apology from Penn and be retroactively awarded records and titles.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Rookie BBC boss is 'blamed for failing to stop a live stream of the Glastonbury anti-Semitic outburst'
A newly appointed BBC executive is being blamed for failing to stop a live stream of the Glastonbury anti-Semitic outburst, it is being claimed – as boss Tim Davie is tipped to 'weather the storm'. Kate Phillips, the corporation's chief content officer, is facing questions as to her role in broadcasting Bob Vylan's set on iPlayer on Saturday. The punk duo's singer stirred up the crowd into repeating anti-Israel chants and advocating the killing of Jewish soldiers during an uninterrupted broadcast on the site. It comes as the UK's Chief Rabbi weighed in on the scandal yesterday, describing the incident as a 'national shame'. Ms Phillips was only given the role permanently on June 18 after a short period as interim chief. A BBC source suggested to the Mail that Ms Phillips should have halted the live stream when it was clear the outburst had descended into anti-Semitism. The singer chanted 'Death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]' and 'From the river to the sea... Palestine will be free', regarded by many Jews as a call for Israel's elimination. The BBC source said Ms Phillip's involvement would take the heat off director-general Mr Davie, who was at the festival. The source added: 'Nobody wants Tim to fall for this, he has a big team to sort these problems out so for Kate it wasn't exactly the ideal start. 'She got the job ten days before Bob Vylan's performance and that is very much the talk of the BBC right now. Surely some of this is on her?' Meanwhile, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi, wrote on X: 'The airing of vile Jew-hatred at Glastonbury, and the BBC's belated and mishandled response, brings confidence in our national broadcaster's ability to treat anti-Semitism seriously to a new low. 'It should trouble all decent people that now one need only couch their outright incitement to violence and hatred as edgy political commentary for ordinary people to not only fail to see it for what it is, but also to cheer it, chant it and celebrate it. Toxic Jew-hatred is a threat to our entire society.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
BBC Storyville Seeking New Head Following Role Closures & 20% Reduction In Films
The BBC's storied documentary strand Storyville is restructuring and seeking a new head. A trio of roles have been closed including Lead Commissioning Editor Emma Hindley's post and a new Head of Storyville is being sought from today, while the number of films commissioned per year will drop by 20%, although annual budget remains the same. The new chief will be joined by an assistant commissioner and team assistant. Alongside Hindley's, the other two roles to close are the Commissioning Editor and Commissioning Co-ordinator. More from Deadline Sunny Side Of The Doc's Awards Go To 'Heart', 'Restless Farewell', 'Mama,' 'In Front Of Us', 'Leonard Cohen: Behind The Iron Curtain' & More BBC News Presenters Back Demand For Strike Vote As Colleagues Face Compulsory Layoffs BBC To Charge U.S. Audiences For News For First Time Initial news of the restructure was announced in an internal email sent round several months back by then-BBC unscripted boss Kate Phillips, who has since taken on the Chief Content Officer role. A job ad was then posted this afternoon seeking a Head of Storyville, who will be 'responsible for developing, directing and deploying the strategy for this genre in line with the BBC's broader digital first strategy, and will represent the BBC within international markets with documentary film makers.' The job pays up to £167,000 ($230,000) per year dependent on experience. The new Storyville structure will sit under Fiona Campbell, the BBC's Controller of Youth Audience, BBC iPlayer & BBC Three. Films will be reduced by 20% per year 'due to the pressures of global financing,' according to Phillips' email, but the annual undisclosed budget remains the same. Moving into Campbell's team will 'enable Storyville to capitalise on synergies with the acquisitions team in how we build relationships with distributors and content partners,' added Phillips. The BBC's documentary strand is hugely respected, winning awards aplenty and recently airing the likes of White Man Walking, The Wolves Always Come At Night and October 7 doc We Will Dance Again, the latter of which just won a News & Documentary Emmy. Former Brook Lapping creative chief Hindley took over from Philippa Kowarsky in early 2023, having done the job temporarily for several months. She has been involved with plenty of respected docs during her tenure but also courted controversy. In late 2023, she was reported to have embraced the director of a Storyville-backed film on stage at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam after he had made remarks deemed by some to be antisemitic. At the time she said she had hugged Mohammed Almughanni because he 'was visibly distressed,' adding: 'Hugging him wasn't a political statement or an endorsement of anybody's views, it was an instinctive human reaction. I'm sorry if my actions have upset anyone – my intentions were quite the opposite.' Best of Deadline 'The Buccaneers' Season 2 Soundtrack: From Griff To Sabrina Carpenter 'The Buccaneers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BBC Throws Up Website Paywall for U.S. Users
Online news and programming from the U.K.'s biggest broadcaster will carry a price for some American fans. BBC Studios and BBC News have launched the 'first phase' of a pay model for in the U.S. U.S users of who choose not to pay will still have access to 'select global breaking news stories,' as well as BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service radio livestreams, BBC World Service Languages sites, and a variety of free newsletters and podcasts, the BBC said. More from Variety BBC Studios Asia, Studio JanChi Team for '12 Seas' Korean Food Series 'Doctor Who' Showrunner Says 'We Don't Know What's Happening Yet' Amid Uncertain Future, but Insists Series 'Will Never End' BBC Confirms Appointment of Kate Phillips as New Content Chief In the initial phase of the BBC's paywall launch, the subscription will cost $8.99 per month or $49.99 per year. U.S. users who sign for a subscription join will get unlimited access to the BBC's news articles, feature stories and the 24-7 livestream of the BBC News channel. In the coming months 'as we test and learn from audience consumption,' the BBC said, ad-free documentary series and films (including the full BBC Select documentary catalogue), ad-free and early release podcasts, and exclusive newsletters and content will be included in the offer. For those in the U.K., that will be no change to the services. All the content that is available on is also available to U.K. audiences through the BBC's various channels and services. The BBC also has no current plans to introduce a pay model for the website outside of North America. Several major U.S.-based news outlets also have paywalls, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. CNN installed a paywall last fall for its website, with heavier users prompted to pay $3.99 per month for access. In the U.S., the BBC is employing a 'dynamic' pay model to gauge access to Using this method, all users visiting the site from within the U.S. 'will be assessed based on how they interact with our content, including how much they read and how long they stay.' According to the BBC, this approach 'allows casual readers to explore freely, while offering our most engaged users the opportunity to unlock even more' by option to pay a subscription fee. The site identifies users based on their device's geolocation. U.K. Licence Fee payers travelling to the U.S. for holiday or work can access their usual content via the BBC News app, if they have downloaded the latest versions from the U.K. app stores before travelling. is commercially funded and operates separately from other BBC platforms in the U.K. According to the company, the U.S. pay model launch supports BBC Studios' 'ongoing effort to grow international commercial revenue that helps fund BBC's journalism and storytelling and delivers greater value for the license fee.' 'We're bringing more of the BBC's trusted, high-quality content together in one powerful, easy-to-access destination,' Rebecca Glashow, CEO of BBC Studios Global Media and Streaming, said in a statement. 'Over the next few months, as we test and learn more about audience needs and habits, additional long-form factual content will be added to the offer for paying users. This is a major milestone and just the beginning of an exciting new chapter.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
