The BBC did not broadcast live coverage of transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard’s event at the Tokyo Olympics after it warned that it would report viewers who questioned her right to compete as a woman to ‘the relevant authorities’.
The British broadcaster did not air the women’s weightlifting on Day 10 of the Games live, when the transgender New Zealand athlete crashed out of the 87kg+ category after failing to record a single valid ‘snatch’ lift, and showed eventing, showjumping and athletics instead.
It also did not broadcast US gymnast Simone Biles’ bronze-medal winning routine live on BBC1 this morning in favour of track cycling, choosing to show the event on its iPlayer and red button services.
The BBC, which provided dozens of livestreams of different sports during the 2012 and 2016 Games, is now only able to show a maximum of two live events at one time after the International Olympic Committee sold the European TV rights to US company Discovery.
But a spokesman declined to tell MailOnline why it did not air Hubbard’s event live – despite threatening to report viewers who ‘bring hate’ to the BBC Sports Twitter page to the ‘relevant authorities’ the night before the weightlifter’s event.
Hubbard’s qualification in the 87+kg category has proven divisive, with some questioning the fairness of transgender athletes who have been through male puberty competing against female athletes, especially in power sports.
But the Hate Won’t Win campaign – which proposes to remove ‘hate on the basis of race, colour, gender, nationality, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexuality, sex, age or class’ – has sparked fears of a move towards censorship of those who are critical of gender politics.
The official BBC Sports Twitter account said in a post: ‘At BBC Sport, we want our platforms to be a respectful place for discussion, constructive criticism, debate and opinion. We know the vast majority of our followers want that too. So here’s our stance.
The BBC did not broadcast live coverage of transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard’s event at the Tokyo Olympics after it warned that it would report viewers who questioned her right to compete as a woman to ‘the relevant authorities’
The Hate Won’t Win campaign – which proposes to remove ‘hate on the basis of race, colour, gender, nationality, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexuality, sex, age or class’ – has sparked fears of a move towards censorship of those who are critical of gender politics
The BBC also did not broadcast US gymnast Simone Biles’ bronze-medal winning routine live on BBC1 this morning in favour of track cycling, choosing to show the event on its iPlayer and red button services
‘We will block people bringing hate to our comments sections. We will report the most serious cases to the relevant authorities. We will work to make our accounts kind and respectful places. We will keep growing our coverage of all sports, and keep covering issues and discussion around equality in sport.
‘We also want your help. If you see a reply to BBC Sports posts with an expression of hate on the basis of race, colour, gender, nationality, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexuality, sex, age or class please flag the URL to the post in question by emailing socialmoderation.sport@bbc.co.uk.
‘Together we will strive to make our social media accounts a safe space for everyone.’
The Defund the BBC campaign told MailOnline the BBC is ‘obliged by its charter to represent and reflect all sections of society without bias, not attempt to shutdown the voices of women’.
Rebecca Ryan, its campaign director, said: ‘We have been inundated with messages of support from women (and men) up and down the country as a result of this tweet from BBC Sport.
‘At least half of the population are reaching breaking point with these encroachments and being told to be kind, be quiet, just put up with it. And for the BBC to say, don’t even question this because we’ll report you. It’s just outrageous.’
Emma Webb, a campaigner at the Free Speech Union, told MailOnline: ‘By threatening to report offensive posts to the police, the BBC have not only failed to discharge its duty of impartiality, it has actively sought to silence a debate about women’s rights that is of high public interest.’
One Twitter user said: ‘BBC is blocking anyone contesting its tweets on Laurel Hubbard, accusing them of ‘hate’. Women standing up for their rights and immutability of sex is not hateful. It’s the BBC which is propagating awful sexist bias.
‘A publicly-funded broadcaster threatening women – shame on you!’
Another said: ‘This from @BBC is a clear warning to women to say absolutely nothing when trans identified males take women’s places on Olympic teams. You have been warned to be silent. Do NOT be silent.’
The BBC declined to comment when approached by MailOnline, and instead referred this publication to a BBC Sports webpage revealing that they had ‘blocked and reported hundreds of accounts, and hidden or removed thousands of comments’ that allegedly broke its guidelines.
It comes after the BBC received ‘hundreds’ of complaints about its Olympics scheduling, which gave up some of its rights to the Tokyo Games and can now only livestream two different sports at once.
Olympic organisers sold the European television rights for the Games to Discovery in a £920million deal in which most coverage has been put behind a paywall accessible through Discovery’s Eurosport channels or its £6.99-per-month streaming service Discovery+.
Hubbard smiles after the competition which she crashed out of after failing to record a single valid lift
Laurel just before she transitioned at 35 years old. Pictured (right) with her parents, including former Auckland Mayor Richard ‘Dick’ Hubbard’ (centre)
Hubbard (circled, as Gavin in a 1993 school photo) transitioned from a man to a woman in 2012 at 35, after training and competing in male weightlifting competitions since she was a teenager
However, Discovery – which also owns stations such as Quest and Really and is a major investor in GB News – is required to make some of the coverage available on a free-to-air channel, and chose the BBC.
Though the deal was announced in 2016, this is the first summer Olympics where it has come into effect – meaning that much of the British public was caught off guard by the changes until now.
The Guardian reported that the BBC received a large number of complaints about its Olympics scheduling – but the fortnightly complaints bulletin which would show the number of complaints made about the Olympics is not available. A spokesman has declined to comment further.
In a public response to complaints, the BBC said: ‘As announced in February 2017, the BBC’s coverage of the Olympic games has changed. The BBC will continue to bring extensive coverage from the Games including all the must see moments.
‘A network channel alongside a live stream on BBC iPlayer will offer live coverage and highlights – so throughout each day of the Games, this global sporting event will be brought to the widest possible audience.
‘Alongside this there will be extensive coverage on radio and digital channels providing a comprehensive mix of live and on demand action for fans. The BBC is no longer able to offer live streams of every sport during the Olympics due to the terms of the licensing arrangements laid down by the rights-holder (Discovery).’