Cynisca Cycling has kicked three-time cycling Olympian Inga Thompson from its board after the cyclist spoke up against allowing men claiming to be transgender “women” to compete in the women’s category.
Most recently, Thompson has called for female athletes to “take a knee” and protest against the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)’s transgender athlete policies that allowed transgender cyclist Austin Killips to be declared the winner of last month’s Tour of the Gila race.
Thompson’s complaints about Killips were apparently Cynisca Cycling’s final straw.
“Inga Thompson is no longer a member of the Cynisca board of directors and will have no consulting or any other role with Cynisca,” the group said, according to Cycling Weekly.
“The association with Ms. Thompson has affected Cynisca’s brand and reputation,” the organization added.
Cynisca went further and insisted that Thompson tried to “intimidate staff members” into siding with her “political activity.”
“Ms. Thompson’s departure resolves a troubling conflict of interest. Cynisca is an apolitical organization, and her campaign and methods, by charter, UCI Code of Ethics, U.S. law and decency, are not and will never be Cynisca’s mission,” the group continued.
Inga Thompson of the USA trains on the course before the 1986 World Cycling Championships Women’s Road Race in September 1986 on the grounds of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (David Madison/Getty Images)
“To be clear, Ms. Thompson is entitled to her opinions and advocacy, but her methods and personal attacks are inconsistent with Cynisca’s mission to advance opportunities for women. Those methods, well-documented on Ms. Thompson’s social media presence, include dehumanization of transgender people, spreading misinformation, demagoguery, and personal attacks on anyone who opposes her views,” the statement said.
“Our mission has been and always will be that of advancing women at all levels of cycling and doing so in a framework of equality, fairness, and tolerance. Despite the negativity fostered by Ms. Thompson, we are succeeding and will push forward faster without her,” the organization concluded.
For her part, Thompson, who won three silver medals at the UCI Road World Championships and a silver at the Pan American Games in 1987, accused the group of emulating the Titanic.
I was so excited for the maiden voyage and launch of @CyniscaC One press release, a brief pause, and they’ve become the Titanic. https://t.co/hgbnPcQmaK
— Inga Thompson Fdn OLY💚💜 (@ithompsonfdn) May 11, 2023
Thompson had taken to Twitter on May 8 to urge female cyclists to “take a knee” in protest against men taking over their sport.
“Women will play on. Help support a protest for women cyclists. Team owners, start speaking up for your women. Men, take a knee to Save Women’s Sports. Display Save Women’s Sports at cycling events. Get loud,” she wrote.
Women will play on. Help support a protest for women cyclists. Team owners, start speaking up for your women. Men, take a knee for Save Women’s Sports. Display Save Women’s Sports at cycling events. Get loud. @JeanHatchet https://t.co/vQ66kaGcXM
— Inga Thompson Fdn OLY💚💜 (@ithompsonfdn) May 8, 2023
Thompson also appeared on Fox & Friends and blasted the media for stifling women’s voices.
“It’s like the media really has effectively shut down all dialogue about this and so many of us on the outside are trying to be this voice, to give the women the confidence to speak up without fear of losing their sponsorship,” she said on May 9.
“That’s why we’re asking the owners of the team to step up and for fans to come and have an active support for these women so that we can have equality in women’s sports,” she said.
Thompson also slammed the cycling authority’s trans athlete rules for having no basis in science and being unfair to natural-born women.
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