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Well, folks, the woke sports brigade is at it again, and this time they’ve got veteran female cyclists spitting nails, and I don't mean fingernails.
USA Cycling is under fire for what some are calling a straight-up bait-and-switch after a transgender athlete, Kate "KJ" Phillips, waltzed away with first place at the Lyons Masters National Championships in Wisconsin. The worst part is that the women who got steamrolled claim they were kept in the dark about Phillips’ participation.
"It was hidden from us," Debbie Milne, who finished a respectable seventh, told Fox & Friends with the kind of exasperation you’d expect from someone who’s been pedaling for decades only to get blindsided. Milne and second-place finisher Julie Peterson said they always scope out the competition by checking the registered athletes list. But guess whose name was mysteriously missing. Yes, Phillips, who apparently identifies as Catherine "KJ" Phillips, was nowhere to be found.
"Catherine Phillips, KJ’s name, was not on that list. And I checked it up all the way to the point of closure when we couldn't register online anymore," Milne said, probably while resisting the urge to chuck her bike at someone.
So, Phillips wins, and Peterson, in a move that screams “I’m not here for your nonsense,” refused to step on her second-place podium at the awards ceremony. Milne called it a “difficult” choice but backed her fellow cyclist, saying she’d have done the same. “She's a class athlete. We respect our sport,” Milne said, noting that the lack of transparency from race organizers felt like a slap in the face to athletes who’ve poured years into cycling. “We respect podiums. It's really tough to do something that significant. It's disrespect,” she added. “She [Peterson] felt that there had not been transparency.”
Here’s where it gets extra spicy: Milne and Peterson aren’t buying that Phillips’ name being left off the list was some innocent oopsie. They’re calling it “deception,” and Milne pointed out that Peterson later confirmed Phillips had been registered since mid-June, which is plenty of time to show up on the list before it closed.
"It was hidden from us," Debbie Milne, who finished a respectable seventh, told Fox & Friends with the kind of exasperation you’d expect from someone who’s been pedaling for decades only to get blindsided. Milne and second-place finisher Julie Peterson said they always scope out the competition by checking the registered athletes list. But guess whose name was mysteriously missing. Yes, Phillips, who apparently identifies as Catherine "KJ" Phillips, was nowhere to be found.
"Catherine Phillips, KJ’s name, was not on that list. And I checked it up all the way to the point of closure when we couldn't register online anymore," Milne said, probably while resisting the urge to chuck her bike at someone.
So, Phillips wins, and Peterson, in a move that screams “I’m not here for your nonsense,” refused to step on her second-place podium at the awards ceremony. Milne called it a “difficult” choice but backed her fellow cyclist, saying she’d have done the same. “She's a class athlete. We respect our sport,” Milne said, noting that the lack of transparency from race organizers felt like a slap in the face to athletes who’ve poured years into cycling. “We respect podiums. It's really tough to do something that significant. It's disrespect,” she added. “She [Peterson] felt that there had not been transparency.”
Here’s where it gets extra spicy: Milne and Peterson aren’t buying that Phillips’ name being left off the list was some innocent oopsie. They’re calling it “deception,” and Milne pointed out that Peterson later confirmed Phillips had been registered since mid-June, which is plenty of time to show up on the list before it closed.
Milne said if she’d known, she might’ve saved herself the hundreds of bucks and 400-plus-mile trip to compete in what turned out to be a rigged-feeling race.
Now, let’s talk about USA Cycling’s rules, which sound like they were written by someone trying to thread the needle between fairness and a diversity seminar.
Now, let’s talk about USA Cycling’s rules, which sound like they were written by someone trying to thread the needle between fairness and a diversity seminar.
Transgender women can race in female divisions if they sign a declaration saying they identify as female and jump through some hoops in the “Elite Athlete Fairness Evaluation Process.” Their website pats itself on the back, claiming, “The Policy recognizes the need to ensure that everyone, irrespective of gender identity, can participate in cycling in a safe, harassment-free environment,” while also promising no one gets an “unfair and disproportionate advantage.”
Sure, sounds great, until you’re a female cyclist wondering why you’re racing against someone who wasn’t even listed and was born with a twig and berries, more fast-twitch muscle, and XY chromosomes.
Meanwhile, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the big dogs of global cycling, aren’t playing these games. They’ve got a policy that keeps transgender women out of female-designated events, period.
Meanwhile, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the big dogs of global cycling, aren’t playing these games. They’ve got a policy that keeps transgender women out of female-designated events, period.
Maybe USA Cycling could take a page from their book instead of leaving athletes like Milne and Peterson feeling like they’ve been pedaled into a ditch.
This whole mess smells like another case of woke bureaucracy trumping common sense. If you’re going to let transgender athletes compete, at least have the decency to tell everyone upfront. Hiding the ball, or the name on the list, just makes it look like you’re trying to pull a fast one. And when you’re dealing with athletes who’ve dedicated their lives to the sport, that’s not just unfair, it’s a betrayal.
This whole mess smells like another case of woke bureaucracy trumping common sense. If you’re going to let transgender athletes compete, at least have the decency to tell everyone upfront. Hiding the ball, or the name on the list, just makes it look like you’re trying to pull a fast one. And when you’re dealing with athletes who’ve dedicated their lives to the sport, that’s not just unfair, it’s a betrayal.
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