The 2026 NFL owners meetings in Phoenix are underway, and among the discussions is bound to be whether an 18th regular-season game should be added to the schedule at some point. 

Two owners, New England Patriots’ Robert Kraft and Indianapolis Colts’ Carlie Irsay-Gordon, are all for it. 

However, there is a key caveat Kraft would be in place. 

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Robert Kraft and Carlie Irsay-Gordon are two NFL owners who believe an 18th game could be added, but with caveats. (Getty Images)

Kraft reportedly told media in Phoenix that he is in favor of an 18th regular-season game, but he wants there to be a second bye week for teams instead of the standard one week. 

Also, Kraft’s “conditions,” according to The33rdTeam’s Ari Meirov was removing one preseason game, which brings the total to two per season, and making every single NFL team play at least one international game each season. 

As for Irsay-Gordon, she pointed to the fact that not every team gets an even number of home games in today’s NFL under a 17-game schedule. But she also agrees with Kraft that preseason should be shortened. 

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“Preseason, is, as far as the fan product goes, I know the commissioner’s been open that it’s not the best product that we have,” she explained, per the Indianapolis Star. “I would say, for development of our team, I don’t think we can get rid of it.”

While owners want it, the NFL Players’ Association noted at the Super Bowl earlier this year that their side has “no appetite” for an 18th regular-season game. 

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft smiles before the NFL 2025 game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 19. (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)

Now that JC Tretter was elected the PA’s executive director, negotiations about an 18th game, as well as a new media rights contract, could be ongoing. While the TV deal could be changed before the start of the 2026 season, Pro Football Talk reported that some support for the league to implement an 18th game could come as soon as the 2027 campaign. 

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has noted in the past that the 18th game is “not a given,” though owners like Kraft, Irsay, and likely others see it coming sooner than later. 

Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins said in a recent interview to Fox News Digital that he feels “it’s going to happen either way.”

He just wants to make sure players like himself are taken care of properly if that is the case, especially from a financial lens.

Dion Dawkins of the Buffalo Bills runs onto the field prior to an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium on Nov. 2, 2025 in Orchard Park, New York. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

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“Our contracts aren’t fully guaranteed. There’s good players, there’s average players, there’s players that are just making it by. As long as guys are taken care of the way they’re supposed to, this is our life. We’re athletes, and not that I’m here for it, it’s going to happen either way – [an] 18th game. And then 20 years later, guess what? We’re talking about a 19th, then we’ll be talking about a 20th.… Then it’s like, ‘Yeah, we are combat athletes all year long.’ But who knows.”

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Once again, the NFL’s opening weekend finds two teams overseas, and one of the head coaches involved doesn’t like it. 

Much like the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers last season in São Paulo, Brazil, the NFL has scheduled division rivals, the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, to take part in the first-ever game in Australia. 

The 49ers and Rams will kick off at 10:35 a.m. local time in Melbourne on Sept. 11, which will be 8:35 p.m. ET on Sept. 10 in the United States. 

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San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan calls a play during the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sept. 28, 2025. (Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was present at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix on Monday, was asked by reporters his thoughts about traveling to Australia, which is around a 14-hour flight, to begin his team’s season. 

“I don’t see any pro,” he said, bluntly. 

Shanahan admitted it being “cool for the league to play globally,” even calling it “awesome” that international fans get to experience American football in their countries. 

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However, as a coach who is focused on his team’s health and performance, Shanahan doesn’t like the idea of starting the season overseas after a grueling training camp that determines his roster.

“But as far as the team doing it, no, there’s not much benefit to it. Sometimes it’s nice to get a bye week after, but doesn’t happen in Week 1.”

As for the time difference, Shanahan was sarcastic with his response to the San Francisco Chronicle.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan yells towards an official during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024 in Green Bay, Wis. (Matt Ludtke/AP Photo)

“Oh, so fired up. So, we’re going back in time or into the future? I think we gain a day or lose a day? Not sure which one yet, but it is what it is. We’ll deal with it.”

Knowing the NFL isn’t going to change its mind here, Shanahan and the 49ers have no choice but to deal with the cards they have to start the year. But GM John Lynch noted the 49ers will get accustomed to Australia’s time difference and everything else that comes with an international game by getting there days before kickoff. 

Now, it’s not uncommon for games to be played overseas at times to accommodate those fans back home. But playing a football game at 10:35 a.m. can come with its challenges, as games are usually played at night. 

Shanahan also noted being “fired up” about having another international game during the 2026 season, though it’s unknown if sarcasm came into play here. 

The 49ers will also be involved in the NFL’s Mexico City game in December. An opponent has not yet been named for the matchup, but it will be revealed in May when every team’s schedule comes out. 

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan walks on the field before an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Minneapolis.  (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)

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In total, the NFL will play a record nine international games during the 2026 season, as the league continues to expand its global reach. There will be three games in London, while Melbourne, Mexico City, Paris, Munich, Rio de Janeiro, and Madrid will also have NFL contests. 

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NBA legend Michael Jordan’s new love in sports is coming on a racetrack instead of a court. 

But the competitive juices he’s known for remain flowing, as his 23XI Racing team sits atop the 2026 NASCAR Cup standings thanks to the four wins Tyler Reddick has already put through in seven starts.  

Jordan made an appearance on “CBS Mornings,” where co-host Gayle King discussed his competitive spirit now in NASCAR. Jordan’s response was that he’s “cursed” with the need to push for greatness — no matter the task at hand. 

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Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing celebrates after Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Chumba Casino Toyota, wins his third race in a row to start the 2026 NASCAR season winning the NASCAR Cup Series DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Circuit of The Americas on March 1, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)

“Think I’m cursed,” Jordan said. “I’m cursed with this competitive gene that anything that I do is from a competitive lens, you know? And in some ways, that keeps me young. It keeps me aggressively thinking positively. It helps me either understand everything that I’m involved and I’m connected with.”

Jordan told King that even the minuscule task of getting ready in the morning turns competitive when he knows his wife, Yvette, is involved. 

MICHAEL JORDAN’S NASCAR DRIVER MAKES HISTORY WITH 3RD STRAIGHT WIN TO START 2026 SEASON

“I gotta get in the shower and get into the bathroom before she comes in so she doesn’t slow down my time, and I can get to the golf course in time,” Jordan explained. “I gotta drop the kids off. I got all these other things I gotta do.”

Of course, Jordan’s competitiveness has been on full display since his days at UNC before becoming an NBA legend with the Chicago Bulls. He doesn’t know when exactly that need to be competitive came to be, but he knows it was childhood. 

Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing looks on during the NASCAR Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 8, 2026 in Avondale, Arizona. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

“I don’t know. I think that my appetite to prove as a kid created this competitive thing within me that has transcended and taken over everything that I do,” he said. “And I think it’s a good trait to have because some people don’t have that trait.

“Some people get right at the cusp of what success really means, and they can never get over that hump. I think it helps you evaluate every stage of success. Believe me, I’ve had my failures in terms of the stages.”

For 23XI racing, which is co-owned by veteran NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, it wasn’t an immediate success. But through hard work and determination, 23XI Racing has developed into a premier team. 

Because of the success and the slow climb to get to this point in NASCAR, Jordan can’t shake that competitive bug. 

Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing celebrates with a crew member of the #45 Xfinity Toyota, after driver, Tyler Reddick wins the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on March 22, 2026 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

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“Once I get over it, it’s infectious,” he said. “It’s that feeling of, you know, you’ve accomplished something. I’ve gotten to that hill. It’s a long road getting up that hill.

“I think that every time you see me giddy down into that in the pit, it’s because we’re doing it. We absolutely are doing it. We’re starting to make a difference in a sport that no one thought we could make a difference in.”

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It was a weekend filled with milestones for the Orioles’ new $155 million first baseman, Pete Alonso.

Taking to Instagram on Monday, wife Haley Alonso recapped the couple’s first MLB opening weekend in Baltimore after seven seasons with the Mets, and their first as a family of three following the birth of their son in October.

Captioning the post, “Opening weekend in birdland,” Haley is seen holding the couple’s baby boy alongside Alonso, 31, at Camden Yards, where the Orioles took two games in their three-game series against the Twins to open the year.

Alonso, who agreed to a five-year pact with the Orioles last December, tallied three hits and one RBI across 11 at-bats in the three games.

The Orioles will host the Rangers from Monday through Wednesday before traveling to Pittsburgh next weekend.

Alonso’s former Mets team dominated Paul Skenes and the Pirates in their season opener at Citi Field last Thursday, 11-7, and took Saturday’s game, 4-2.

The Mets lost their first game of the season Sunday in extra innings, 4-3.

Despite Alonso’s absence, Mets fans are still cheering on the five-time MLB All-Star from afar.

“So happy for your beautiful family! We will miss you at Citifield…the O’s are lucky to have you!” one fan commented on Haley’s Instagram.

“Miss you guys,” another wrote alongside orange and blue heart emojis. “We’re still rooting for you!!”

Alonso made his MLB debut for the Mets in 2019 after being drafted by the club in 2016.

He collected the Silver Slugger Award last season.

Upon moving on from the Mets, Alonso posted a heartfelt tribute to the fans.

“Thank you for the passion. Thank you for the love. Even the tough love that comes with playing for New York. When it came time for first pitch, thank you for being electric through it all. Thank you for getting rowdy every time I stepped up to the plate and made the building shake when the ball found a seat over the wall. Your energy fueled me more than you’ll ever know,” he wrote on Instagram in December.

Haley, who married Alonso in 2021, reflected on their “special” 2025 in a separate Instagram post, which highlighted the Orioles signing and the birth of their son.

“What a year and what a life we’ve got,” Alonso wrote. “Love you bunches.”

The Trump administration on Monday filed a lawsuit against Minnesota as the state continued to buck the president’s executive order to keep males out of women’s and girls’ sports.

The Justice Department (DOJ) alleged that the state’s Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) are in violation of Title IX policies.

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Groups of protesters stand in front of the Supreme Court of the United States as the Justices hear the landmark case to decide if transgender girls should be allowed to participate in girls’ and women’s sports on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. Credit: Andrew Thomas / CNP (Andrew Thomas / CNP for Fox News Digital)

“The Trump Administration does not tolerate flawed state policies that ignore biological reality and unfairly undermine girls on the playing field,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

Minnesota has resisted making a change to its policies regarding transgender athletes. The state filed a preemptive lawsuit last year, saying the state’s human rights act supersedes President Donald Trump’s executive orders. The lawsuit said at the time that the state was already in compliance with Title IX. A ruling is pending on the federal government’s motion to dismiss the case.

The federal government said in a statement on Monday that the state violates Title IX “by requiring girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions that are designated exclusively for girls and allowing boys to invade intimate spaces designated exclusively for girls, such as multi-person locker rooms and bathrooms.”

A protester holds a sign outside the Supreme Court during arguments over state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FORMER VIKINGS CAPTAIN SPEAKS OUT AFTER MINNESOTA MISSES TRUMP ADMIN’S DEADLINE TO PROTECT GIRLS’ SPORTS

The Justice Department said the MDE’s funding, which is $3 billion annually from the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, is contingent on its compliance with Title IX.

The lawsuit asked federal court in Minnesota to declare that the state is in violation of Title IX.

Fox News Digital reached out to the MSHSL, the MDE and Gov. Tim Walz’s office for comment.

In October, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison defended having transgender athletes in girls’ sports.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz seen as the state faces a lawsuit from the Trump DOJ. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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“Letting the very small number of transgender students in Minnesota play on their school sports teams doesn’t harm anyone, but segregating them does,” Ellison said in a statement.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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PHOENIX – The Tush Push witch hunt that made last year’s NFL annual meeting about terse exchanges among NFL royalty, showed how duplicitous the NFL office can be when it wants, and had multiple NFL people admit that if you can’t beat ‘em, get them banned, is not a thing at this year’s meeting.

This year’s NFL owners meetings began here on Sunday and the Tush Push is not on the agenda, won’t be debated and is not on anybody´s lips, and that includes Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.

Sirianni, who privately feels a strong connection to the play, is publicly being guarded about predicting the play is clear of renewed future scrutiny.

“I don’t know, you take one step at a time,” Sirianni said Monday morning. “It’s not something I have to think about right now. So, I guess I don’t really have a lot of thoughts on that. We’ll play by the rules of whatever we need to be able to do in every aspect.”

NEW ORLEANS, LA – FEBRUARY 09: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) scores touchdown on a tush push during Super Bowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs on February 9, 2025 at the Superdome in New Orleans, LA. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

McKay: People Still Concerned About Tush Push

So the league is in quite a different place than it was one year ago when the Green Bay Packers proposed the play be banned, then the NFL office surreptitiously worked to make that happen, and practically every team in the NFC that knew if had to defend against the play on the field used its off-the-field vote to ban the Eagles’ signature play.

But this year, well, nothing. The Tush Push lives and perhaps the debate about the play is over. 

“I don’t know that it’s the end of the debate, because I think there’s still people that are concerned with the whole pushing element,” NFL Competition Committee co-Chairman Rich McKay said. “But I would say to you that, just like last year I told you – there was no Competition Committee proposal last year on the Tush Push, there was no proposal the year before on that.

“And over the years, we’ve now seen that the Tush Push is going down. The percentage of, or I should say the number of plays it’s being used on, is going down. The success rate on the traditional sneak is above the Tush Push success rate. So, I just think there’s less talk about it within the football community, and there was no proposal on the table to put anything in this year to deal with that.”

This, of course, is one explanation why the Tush Push isn’t a big deal this year. But it’s a snapshot from an instamatic (look it up, Gen Z) rather than a portrait.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen gets the 1-yard for a first down on the tush push play during first half action at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Sept. 23, 2024.

Landscape Has Changed On Tush Push

And to fill in the extra pixels, one must understand that while it is true the Competition Committee made no proposal on the play last year, McKay was against it and the committee ultimately favored banning the play. 

League officials all the way on up to perhaps even commissioner Roger Goodell preferred that the Tush Push be banned. Goodell consistently mentioned his health and safety concerns regarding the play despite there being no health and safety data to present as evidence.

There are another couple of reasons the Tush Push lives on. 

Sean McDermott is gone as the coach of the Buffalo Bills and he – and his team by extension – were an ardent opponent of the Tush Push last year. The Bills were one of only two AFC teams that voted to effectively ban the Tush Push – and then used the Tush Push in their offensive repertoire during the season.

The Green Bay Packers are still around. But club president Mark Murphy, who spearheaded that team’s effort to get the Tush Push banned, retired. So another net-plus for the Tush Push.

We should recall that about half the NFL was prepared to vote in favor of banning the Tush Push at last year’s annual meeting. But that didn’t reach the three-fourth plateau the measure needed.

So the NFL, whipping votes beforehand, decided to avoid defeat by never taking the vote. The vote was tabled during those meetings at the end of March and the issue was pushed to another league meeting in May. 

NFL Effort Against Fell Short

In past years, pushing issues to the next meeting had been a tool the NFL used to win the day because the May meeting allowed league personnel to lobby owners in favor of their measures, knowing coaches and general managers would not attend that next meeting.

The proposal in May still fell two votes short, 22-10 in favor of a ban. Only one NFC team, aside from the Eagles, voted to keep the play:

The Detroit Lions.

While the initial proposal from the Packers focused on player safety, McKay later admitted that the discussion in the room in Palm Beach ventured away from player safety into aesthetics.

It’s worth noting the Eagles were not as successful with the play last season. In their 2024 Super Bowl season, the Eagles converted over 81 percent of the time on the Tush Push. That percentage sank to 63.6 percent in 2025.

Suddenly, all those NFC teams that hated the play last spring because it was such a huge headache in 2024 don’t feel quite so motivated to get rid of it now. 

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch did his best to shut down the buzz around the theory that an electrical substation near Levi’s Stadium could be the catalyst for the spate of injuries the team has suffered over the last few years.

The theory popped up on social media during the 2025 season, though the 49ers have played at Levi’s Stadium since 2014 and used the practice facility that is also near the substation since 1989.

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San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Niners star George Kittle said in February he didn’t believe the rumors were true, but also wanted a definitive answer.

Lynch provided one Sunday as NFL owners began to meet in Phoenix, Arizona. He said the organization had a scientist come to the facility to see if there was anything awry.

“It basically was a big nothing burger,” Lynch told reporters, via ESPN. “We’re in a safe place of work…. It’s a normal place of work. It’s a normal gym. We are safe, we’re healthy, and we feel really good about that.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is carted off the field after an injury during the NFC wild-card game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Jan. 11, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

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“That was important to us, not just to turn a blind eye, but to look into it because it’s our players’ wellness. It’s not only our players’ wellness, it’s coaches, it’s staff, all that. And it’s encouraging.”

According to the 49ers, the scientist learned that players and staff were being exposed to an electromagnetic environment similar to that of a gym or average workplace.

Still, the injury bug is something the 49ers have to figure out as the seasons go on.

John Lynch watches players work out during NFL Pro Day, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Athens, Georgia. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

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San Francisco was 12-5 in 2025, but players like Kittle, Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall and Mykel Williams each missed several games with injuries.

For now, it appears the substation theory has been shut down.

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Great Britain’s Adam Gemili has announced his retirement from athletics after 14 years at the top of the sport

In the space of a few months, Adam Gemili went from playing for Dagenham and Redbridge academy to becoming World Junior 100m champion and stepping onto the start line at the London 2012 Olympics.

Gemili had left Chelsea’s academy at 15 after training alongside the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and three years later was racing against Jamaican legends Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake at the Olympics.

Now, as the Londoner announces his retirement from athletics, he will be sharing his wisdom with the current Chelsea youngsters as he joins the Premier League club part-time as a speed coach.

Gemili made his Olympic debut at 18 and raced Jamaican Yohan Blake

“I dabbled a little bit in athletics, but I didn’t really try properly, and I remember just suddenly getting into the sport in training, and I just picked it up so quickly,” Gemili said.

“I was winning races and next thing I know, six months later, it’s a home Olympics and I’m lining up for GB thinking ‘what am I doing here?’

“Honestly, it the most imposter syndrome I’ve ever had, I was thinking ‘how does this happen to me?’

“Six months prior, no one had ever asked for my autograph or asked for a picture with me and now all of a sudden I’m at a home Olympics.

“Everyone sort of knew who I was, I was the young sprinter on the block, it was a really crazy time, not just for myself, for my family as well.

“I’d seen Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake on the TV, then suddenly, I’m in the call room, looking across and Usain’s sitting there.

“I remember thinking to myself ‘lock in, come on, focus’ – I was fangirling.

“I was in the Olympic Village in London walking around and Serena Williams walked in front of me and I was like ‘what’s happening? I was playing at Dagenham five, six months ago’. I didn’t really feel like I belonged.”

Gemili’s major breakthrough into the sport came within three years of leaving the Chelsea academy

Now as Gemili retires with a plentiful collection of medals, including a 4x100m gold from the London World Championships in 2017 and four European golds, he returns to where it all started to help the next generation at Chelsea.

“I’m just a normal guy from Dartford, we didn’t grow up with a lot,” Gemili added. “We just worked hard and I committed to my sport.

“I just hope one or two of them [the academy players] take some inspiration from that and say ‘you know what, it doesn’t matter if I can’t do it in this way, I’ll always find a way to be successful’.

“It doesn’t matter what you do. My story is my own and I hope a lot of these guys can create their own stories.

“I really hope they will go on and become super famous, rich, successful footballers that I can ring up and say ‘oh, I need some tickets for this game’, but the reality is it might not happen.

“But they might then be able to go ‘Adam used to do that and then he became a professional athlete in another sport, maybe I can do that’.

“These kids are so talented, they’re going to be talented no matter what they do – these 12, 13, 14-year-olds, they are just a different breed.

“It’s more brutal to be amongst [academy football] now, social media wasn’t a thing when I was growing up and now everything you do is online.

“Everyone can judge everyone, so the pressure, the performance, you’ve got to be on it.”

Gemili placed fourth at the 2016 Olympics and 2019 World Championships over 200m, and in 2023 in the 4x100m

Through his background in football and athletics, Gemili can provide a unique perspective on improving your speed and emphasises that while all sports are different, the key is to learn was ‘fast’ feels like.

He’ll be setting up his own ‘academy’ to help sprinters, footballers, and young athletes from other sports learn how they can optimise their speed.

“Knowledge is power and if I’m able to teach these kids everything that I know, I can die happy,” he added.

“I hope even just one or two of them can feel some sort of inspiration from my story because football is very tough sport – like, I never planned to become an athlete.

“For a lot of these guys they won’t make it to the top level, they won’t make it to the top of the Premier League.

“But if I can teach them the skills that I got, one or two of them might even come into athletics, you never you never really know.”

Home World Championships ‘inspire a nation’

Gemili won gold at the London 2017 World Athletics championships in the 4x100m alongside Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, CJ Ujah and Daniel Talbot

The bidding process for the 2029 World Athletics Championships is ongoing, but British Athletics’ bid has been hit by reports West Ham are yet to agree to the London Stadium’s use.

Gemili said the impact of a home championships cannot be missed, as he reflected back on his experience competing in the stadium in 2012 and at the 2017 World Championships.

“It gives athletes a great opportunity, but also it inspires a city, inspires a nation,” he said.

“Who knows in 10 or 15 years, that moment might make the future because there would definitely have been people in that 2017 stadium that were inspired by performances there that are now on British teams.

“I really hope they can come to an agreement, because sport should be celebrated and – football, athletics – there’s so much joy and brilliance that it brings to people.

“It brings such community in it, and especially London, it brings such a city together when especially over the last couple of years, it’s felt quite divided.”

Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 800-meter race, blasted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over a new policy to ensure fairness for females competing at the highest level of sports.

Semenya, who has disorders of sex development (DSD), has testosterone levels higher than a typical female range and has launched legal challenges in order to compete in the women’s category. Semenya said she expected more from IOC President Kirsty Coventry.

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Caster Semenya (RSA) runs during a heat of the women’s 5000m during the World Athletics Championships Oregon 22 at Hayward Field on July 20, 2022. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

“Personally, for her as a leader, she’s an African, I’m sure she understands how, you know, we as Africans, we are coming from, as a global South, you know, you cannot control genetics,” Semenya said Thursday. “For me personally, for her being a woman coming from Africa, knowing how, you know, African women or women in the global South are affected by that.”

The IOC said it would employ genetic testing to verify the biological sex of competitors in women’s events. The IOC said that eligibility for events in the women’s category is “now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one-time SRY gene screening.”

“Evidence‑based and expert‑informed, the policy – applicable for the LA28 Olympic Games onwards – protects fairness, safety and integrity in the female category,” according to the organization.

“Obviously if you say the science, because we talk about science here, if the science is clear, show us who decided and don’t dress that as a lie because it’s a lie and we know because we’ve seen it so if we were to answer or confront Kirsty that’s how we gonna respond and we’ll respond strong as we are because it affects women,” Semenya said.

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Caster Semenya (RSA) wins the women’s 800m in an African record 1:54.25 during the Meeting de Paris in an IAAF Diamond League meet at Stade Charlety on June 30, 2018.  (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

Semenya won Olympic gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Games but is banned from competing in certain international meets like the Olympics and world championships since she refused to follow the rules and take medication to reduce her hormone levels.

“For me personally, I’ll say the voice is not heard because you taking it as a tick box, you ticking a box so you can go clarify or say yes we’ve consulted,” she said. “For me, it’s you ticking the box.”

The IOC said it came to the decision to implement the policy after consulting with a panel of experts, with the goal of providing equal opportunity for women in sport.

“The policy was developed on the basis that it is universally accepted that providing for a female category is necessary to allow both males and females equal access to elite sport,” the IOC said in an announcement.

“It was guided by the IOC’s modern goals relating to equality (equal opportunities for female athletes in finals, on podiums and in championships); enhancing Olympic value (featuring both women’s and men’s finals in every sport); and visibility and inspiration (celebrating female athletes on the Olympic podium to inspire and represent women and girls worldwide).”

Coventry suggested that the continued enabling of males in women’s sports is “not safe” in the announcement.

South Africa’s Caster Semenya competes in the women’s 3000m final during the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Athletics Grand Prix at the Greenpoint Athletics Stadium in Cape Town on March 23, 2022.  (RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images)

“As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition. The policy that we have announced is based on science and has been led by medical experts. At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat,” she said.

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“So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.