Press Box: Khelif stands triumphant over a culture war

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Illustration by Killian Goodale-Porter.

Kyler Gilliam, Contributing Writer

The Olympics is a time for sportsmanship and togetherness from the best athletes across the world representing their countries, but this year’s games were stained by a controversy.

At the center of this controversy is an Algerian female boxer, Imane Khelif. Her first bout was in the second round against Italian boxer Angela Carini, since Khelif received a first round bye due to her higher seed in the tournament. 

The fight lasted a measly 46 seconds after Carini backed out after being hit in the face twice. Carini forfeited due to her being punched “too hard.” 

The 25-year-old boxer made her debut in 2018 and has accumulated a record of 41-9 with six of those wins coming from knockout, according to CBS Sports. 

Khelif has previously competed in international boxing events held by the International Boxing Association and the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo. 

Khelif reached the gold medal match but was disqualified after allegedly failing an unspecified gender test during the 2023 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, according to NBC.

IBA President Umar Kremlev alleged Khelif tested positive for having XY chromosomes. Later on, Kremlev changed his explanation stating that she had a high level of testosterone, according to CBS. 

Tests are done due to either the inclusion or fear of transgender athletes, usually the latter. These tests more often than not hurt female athletes who were born with a difference in sexual development. 

For instance, South African 800m runner Caster Semenya was not allowed to compete in the 2020 Olympics due to her not wanting to lower her testosterone levels, according to NPR.

Both of these women were born women, raised as women and competed as women. However, governing bodies decided they were not “woman enough” to compete.

The International Olympic Committee decided to ban the IBA as their boxing governing body in 2019, which allowed Khelif to compete in this year’s Olympic, according to CBS sports

The Italian boxer’s backout opened floodgates for hatred aimed at Khelif head-on by the notable people. J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk both shared openly transphobic and harmful attacks on the social platform X.

“Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who 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,” Rowling’s post on X stated.

Rowling made a reply to a post that said Khelif should seek to sue accounts spreading misinformation about her anatomy and gender identity. In the post, Rowling doubled down on her sentiment. 

“The idea that those objecting to a male punching a female in the name of sport are objecting because they believe Khelif to be ‘trans’ is a joke. We object because we saw a male punching a female,” Rowling’s post on X stated.

Musk, who is the owner of X, made two posts attacking Khelif. One stated, “Men don’t belong in women’s sports,” and the other stated former President Donald Trump would ban biological males from competing in female athletics. 

X was the main source of misinformation of Khelif’s gender and sex. She faced scrutiny for just existing as a woman that did not fit in the typical gender binary people are accustomed to.

Social media personality and WWE wrestler Logan Paul also posted in disagreement with Khelif participating in the Olympics.

“This is the purest form of evil unfolding right before our eyes. A man was allowed to beat up a woman on a global stage, crushing her life’s dream while fighting for her deceased father. This delusion must end,” Paul stated on X.

Paul then rescinded his statement, however, in a seemingly disingenuous way.

“OOPSIES. I might be guilty of spreading misinformation along with the entirety of this app,” Paul stated.Paul did not apologize to Khelif and only stated “OOPSIES” after openly spreading lies to his 6.8 million followers. 

The rise of transphobia, specifically in athletic spaces, hurts cisgender female athletes. Their anatomy is in continuous questioning leading to widespread “transvestigation” of female athletes, such as swimmer Katie Ledecky and basketball player Brittney Griner.

Most anti-trans hysteria comes from high school and collegiate athletics. Some parents and administrators feel like they have to “protect” their little girls from the “trans-woman boogeyman” that is coming to take over “cis-women’s sports,” when in reality that is not the case. 

Transgender people are already a small minority in the United States, making up 1.1% of the U.S. population. Out of that 1.1%, only a small percentage actually play organized school-sanctioned sports, according to USA Facts.

Laws and regulations are being passed to limit or ban transgender people from participating in sports that align with their gender identity. Ohio restricted trans women and girls from competing in both K-12 and collegiate level sports, joining 20 states that have approved restrictions against trans athletes competing in school sanctioned sports, according to the Associated Press

I believe these laws aid in the fear mongering surrounding trans people. It paints them as the villain in a world where they are the victim. These laws normalize transphobia within our society. Laws banning trans athletes may lead to harsher regulations when it comes to trans people’s safety. The line these lawmakers are teetering on is both dangerous and irresponsible. 

Imane Khelif went on to capture the gold medal and became her country’s flag bearer for the closing ceremony for the games. She has also filed a cyber-harassment lawsuit that names both Rowling and Musk, according to Variety.

Khelif ended her Olympic Games on top and handled the entire situation with grace and fortitude unlike no other. No athlete should go through the scrutiny she did over blatant misinformation and the hatred for a group of people just trying to live their truth. This culture war needs to end so we don’t see any more casualties.

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