Imane Khelif Photo: ALGÉRIE PRESSE SERVICE/via Wikipedia
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was outraged that Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won her match against Italian boxer Angela Carini yesterday at the Olympics, calling Khelif a “man pretending to be a woman.” Khelif is a cisgender woman.
“A real women, Angela Carini, who trained for years to box at the Olympics is ‘defeated’ by a real man pretending to be a woman,” Greene wrote, referring to Khelif as a man, which she is not.
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“HE is a fraud, an imposter, and a liar. Shame on EVERYONE who allows men to compete against women. Democrats support this.”
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A real women, Angela Carini, who trained for years to box at the Olympics is “defeated” by a real man pretending to be a woman.
HE is a fraud, an imposter, and a liar.
Shame on EVERYONE who allows men to compete against women.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) August 1, 2024
Khelif was assigned female at birth and she identifies as a woman, making her a cisgender woman. A UNICEF article about her from earlier this year discusses how her father, when she was a child, was against her taking up boxing because he “did not approve of boxing for girls.”
Many on the right have latched on to a statement last year from International Boxing Association (IBA) president Umar Kremlev, who said that DNA tests had “proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded.” He also said that countries were recruiting cis men to compete in women’s sports. There is no evidence of that.
Even if his statement is true, though, XY chromosomes don’t mean that Khelif is a “man” or that she was assigned male at birth. Women with XY chromosomes have even been known to give birth.
Khelif said last year that she was excluded by the IBA because she’s Algerian: “People have conspired against Algeria so that its flag doesn’t get raised and it doesn’t win the gold medal.”
Unlike the IBA, the IOC is permitting Khelif to compete but isn’t commenting on the results of gender testing, genetics, or the hormone levels of individual competitors other than to say that they meet the IOC’s eligibility rules. The IOC pulled recognition of the IBA last year due to a lack of financial transparency, which means that the IBA – unlike other individual sports organizations – has “no involvement in either the qualification for or the organization of” boxing at the 2024 Olympics.
“And, by the way, this is not a transgender issue. I should make this absolutely clear.”
At yesterday’s fight, Carini backed out after 46 seconds, saying that she felt “a strong pain in the nose” after she was punched twice and decided to “put an end to it.”
“I am in pieces because I am a fighter, they taught me to be a warrior,” Carini said. “I have always tried to behave with honor, I have always represented my country with loyalty. This time I didn’t manage to because I couldn’t fight any more. Regardless of the person I had in front, of me, which doesn’t interest me, regardless of all the row, I just wanted to win. I wanted to face the person that I had in front of me and to fight.”
She refused to comment on Khelif’s eligibility, saying it’s “not up to me to judge.”
Each boxer’s country is taking an opposing stance on whether the fight should have happened. Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, “I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions. And not because you want to discriminate against someone, but to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms.”
Meanwhile, the Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) said in a statement that it “strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets.”
“Such attacks on her personality and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics. The COA has taken all necessary measures to protect our champion.”
