One of the controversies during the 2024 Paris Olympics, especially for those who love to make quick judgments, is the one concerning Algerian welterweight Imane Khelif, who was thrust into the headlines last week after winning a match against Angela Carini of Italy, who stopped the fight after exchanging just a few punches and 46 seconds.
Carini, who refused to shake Khelif’s hand after surrendering the bout, said she ended the match because of a “severe pain” in her nose. She also said she was not qualified to make decisions on whether Khelif should be allowed to compete. Perhaps her nose pain was so bad that she forgot to shake hands with the winner of the match.
Anyway, when it was discovered that Khelif was among the athletes who were disqualified at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi by the International Boxing Association, for failing to meet unspecified gender eligibility tests.
Unfortunately for international sports and humanity, there were people who saw the word “gender eligibility test” and the quick and tearful surrender of the Italian boxer, and immediately assumed that the Algerian boxer was a cheating transgender. This assumption which was not based on facts was eventually debunked, but not before Khelif faced a firestorm of hate, which included ignorant comments from Donald Trump and JK Rowling.
Imane Khelif was born female and identifies as female. She met the Olympics’ requirements for eligibility, both in Paris and Tokyo. Mark Cuban of Shark Tank and Dallas Mavericks fame also pointed out that she is from Algeria, where it is illegal to be gay. Her only fault is probably that her body produces a bit more testosterone than usual, which is not common, but not unnatural either.
The reason that she got so much hate was that the IBA had marked her as among the fighters that failed unspecified eligibility tests. However, it must be noted that the IBA, whose president is Umar Kremlev of Russia, handed down that decision shortly after Khelif beat Russian boxer Azalia Amineva, who was previously undefeated.
Also notable is the IBA legitimacy already having been called into question, with USA Boxing terminating its relationship with that body last year, citing “ongoing failures of IBA leadership.”
Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has defended its decision to allow Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting to compete, saying concerns over their gender identity are “totally unacceptable.” “We have two boxers who were born as women, who have been raised as women, who have a passport as a woman, and who have competed for many years as women,” he said.
Bach said there was “never any doubt” on the two being women. Both have always competed in women’s divisions and there’s no indication that they identify as transgender.
As an old fashioned guy when it comes to sports, it’s thankfully easier to comment on boxing, as it is one of the 10 Olympic sports that have restricted the participation of transgender athletes. If it were one of those gray area sports, where the new guidelines require transgender women to have completed their transition before the age of 12 to be eligible to compete in the women’s category, I’d be at a loss, because for starters, I cannot, for the life of me, fathom how a child, who has not reached the age of consent, can be given the decision to complete their gender transition before the age of 12.
It is understandable why people reacted to this controversial boxing match, especially after the insinuations of a transgender qualifying in a combat sport at the Olympics, no less. And while the facts that were always there for those who weren’t quick to judge proved that Khelif was born female, the controversy reveals how sporting bodies need to come up with protocols for quickly proving any accusation or insinuation wrong when it comes to such an issue.
Aside from birth certificates and passports, medical records, physical exams and the use of technology like ultrasounds should be able to easily prove the gender of any athlete in any significant competition. The ability to quickly quash any doubt is not only good for the sport, but also serves to protect the accused, who can be the target of harassment or even violence.
Moreover, athletes might also need to update their code of conduct, which was supposed to be ingrained in them as part of the supposedly universal concept of ‘fair play’. Aside from being totally transparent with any gender issues that might put a doubt in the fairness of any competition, local or international, there is also the flip side where anyone who doubts the gender of their opponent shouldn’t make public insinuations or accusations. We may not have to go as far as requiring the mechanism where sporting bodies have the documentary and scientific proof on the gender of their athletes, but the bottom line is there should be no need to publicly subject athletes to unnecessary drama or controversy.
This is a sensitive topic, so continuous tweaks or adjustments, compromises, and further discussions will be necessary. But if we do not face the issue now, it will only come back to bite somebody again, in the next Olympics or somewhere in between. The organizations that have the power to make it as right as possible might as well get to it.*
