Algerian Boxer Faces Unfounded Transphobic Allegations After Italian Opponent Folds
A female Olympic boxer from Algeria, Imane Khelif, has faced a barrage of transphobic insults today after her opponent in an Olympic match, Italian boxer Angela Carini, threw in the towel after only 46 seconds. Khelif was born a woman, and in Algeria, her home country, being trans is against the law.
Carini made claims such as, “I have never felt a punch like this.” after being hit multiple times, she fell to her knees, cried, and refused to shake her opponent’s hand.
Well-known transphobic users on the social media site Twitter were quick to make unfounded allegations that Imane Khelif was a man. J. K. Rowling said in a Twitter post,” Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who’s [sic] knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”
Vice Presidential Candidate JD Vance posted, seemingly trying to make it an issue about the beliefs of the presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate, “This is where Kamala Harris’s ideas about gender lead: to a grown man pummeling a woman in a boxing match. This is disgusting, and all of our leaders should condemn it.”
Ari Drennan, journalist with MMFA and trans woman, said via the social media site, “Algeria sending a trans boxer to the Olympics would be huge news to LGBTQI Algerians, who face multiple years in prison if they are caught. This lie is vile, sick, and WEIRD.”
More than one user brought up the point that the criticism of transgender gender identities was always going to end with cisgender females’ gender being questioned and denied.
Mark Adams, IOC Spokesman, said in a press conference that the two boxers who were being speculated about, Imani Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu‑ting, had competed as women, lost fights to other women, and emphatically stated that the controversy was “not a transgender issue.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a lengthy statement to stem the tide of hateful misinformation spreading on social media. The statement said, “Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination. All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU).”
The statement continues, “We have seen misleading information in reports about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships, and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.
These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the 2023 IBA World Championships, they were suddenly disqualified without due process.
The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.”
The statement concludes with a reminder that the organization that largely caused this debacle is no longer sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee. “The IBA’s recognition was withdrawn by the IOC in 2023 following its suspension in 2019. The withdrawal of recognition was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). See the IOC’s statement following the ruling.”
