Olympics: Imane Khelif Files Complaint Over Gender Abuse
Imane Khelif of Algeria, the Olympic boxing champion at the center of a gender eligibility controversy, has filed a complaint of 'aggravated cyber harassment' against X (formerly Twitter) with the online hate center of the Paris prosecutor's office....
0:00
/1861
Facts
- Imane Khelif of Algeria, the Olympic boxing champion at the center of a gender eligibility controversy, has filed a complaint of 'aggravated cyber harassment' against X (formerly Twitter) with the online hate center of the Paris prosecutor's office.[1][2]
- Her lawyer said Saturday that the investigation will focus on 'who was behind' and who took part in what he described as a 'misogynist, racist and sexist campaign' during the Games. He claimed this campaign included 'important political figures.'[3][4]
- The welterweight fighter won gold at the Olympics on Friday amid debate over her sex, particularly after her first opponent withdrew from the bout in 46 seconds. Khelif won the following three matches 5-0.[5][6]
- Last week, the head of the Safe Sport Unit at the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Kirsty Burrows, defended Khelif and filed a complaint over death threats and online harassment with French authorities.[7][8][9]
- Both Khelif and featherweight gold medallist Lin Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) have had their qualifications to compete put in doubt after being disqualified from the International Boxing Association world championships over unspecified eligibility tests.[10][11]
- Though all boxers competing in women's events officially comply with regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit, the IOC claims that if there is a 'scientifically solid system' to determine sex, there could be a policy review ahead of the 2028 Games.[12][13]
Sources: [1]Le Monde.fr, [2]The Telegraph, [3]France 24, [4]Al Jazeera, [5]Daily Caller, [6]Olympics, [7]New York Post, [8]NBC, [9]Women's Agenda, [10]New York Times, [11]Sky Sports, [12]FOX News and [13]Reuters.
Narratives
- Right narrative, as provided by Daily Wire and UnHerd. Sadly for women's boxing, the IOC was complicit in allowing genetically male individuals to box against women — and unsurprisingly win all their bouts in unanimous decisions — despite 2024 being promoted as the first-ever gender-equal Olympics. Though Khelif is not trans, the Algerian has all the advantages of being a male in the ring.
- Left narrative, as provided by The Conversation and Newsweek. Anti-trans activists were quick to attack cisgender female Olympic champion Imane Khelif, paying little attention to the fact that she had competed — and won just a single bout — at Tokyo 2020 without any commotion. Defining a woman is certainly a tricky thing, but it isn't hard to see that non-white athletes continue to suffer the most scrutiny and abuse.
