Bridges ‘faced threats’ after Johnson’s trans comment
Emily Bridges, the cyclist at the centre of British sport’s toxic transgender row, has said she suffered threats of “physical violence” after Boris Johnson declared “biological males” should not be competing in women’s sport.
In an interview about the outcry over her plan to switch from men’s events, Bridges said she had been inundated with abuse – and worse – following the Prime Minister’s intervention two months ago.
“It’s really strange to see probably the most famous man in Britain talking about you and having an opinion on something he doesn’t know anything about,” Bridges told ITV News.
“The response after that was as expected. I had threats of physical violence made against me by complete strangers online. People are entitled to hold an opinion about it, but there’s a way to go about voicing that opinion – and threatening to kneecap me is not that way.
“I’m scared a lot of the time about being who I am in public. Is someone going to recognise me? It was a real fear that I had after the comments were made, and it was scary.”
Bridges’ interview also revealed that the UCI, her sport’s world governing body, had told her it required more information before deciding whether to let her switch to women’s events, which could delay a verdict in her case another two months.
When Bridges was blocked from competing at the National Omnium Championships in March, it emerged that an expert panel would be required to assess her application. This ruled out representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games.
Amid a threat of a boycott by British cyclists if Bridges was allowed to compete domestically, British Cycling also suspended its own transgender policy. Bridges said she had not heard anything since from the national governing body.
A British Cycling spokesperson said: “We sincerely apologise for the uncertainty caused by the suspension of our policy, particularly for the transgender and non-binary communities and women in our sport, and we will be actively engaging with these communities as part of our policy review.”