Bullying can destroy people, mentally. Unfair professional combat sports can destroy people, physically.
Those two things are not mutually exclusive. Furthermore, it does not constitute the former to point out the latter and note that, in some rare and heartbreaking cases, people should be barred from taking part in public competitions where their participation risks the health of others.
These should be uncontroversial statements. But, in the case of Imane Khelif, the Algerian women’s boxer who has been the subject of much debate these Olympics, little is without controversy.
Khelif was disqualified by the International Boxing Association after the 2023 world championships when she failed a gender test. Reports have said that the boxer has a rare condition called Disorders of Sexual Difference, or DSD, where genitalia and gender chromosomes can be “mismatched.” In her case, this would mean that she was born with the XY chromosomes of a man — and the hormonal changes that come with it — but the outward genitalia of a woman.
“Women’s sports categories exist in most sports in recognition of the clear advantage that going through male puberty gives an athlete,” Reuters noted in an explainer.
“That advantage is not just through higher testosterone levels but also in muscle mass, skeletal advantage and faster twitch muscle.
“In combat sports such as boxing, this can be a serious safety issue.”
Forget this, though, and forget the fact that Khelif won her first fight by abandonment and her second by unanimous decision. Instead, according to the Algerian athlete, the real issue is … bullying.
“I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” Khelif told an Arabic-language news outlet, according to The Hill.
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“It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”
While the 25-year-old Khelif says she hasn’t followed the controversy on social media due to “a mental health team that doesn’t let us follow social media, especially in the Olympic Games, whether me or other athletes,” she worried about the effect on her family.
“I am in contact with my family two days a week. I hope that they weren’t affected deeply,” she said.
Khelif explained: “They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best response.”
“I know that the Olympic Committee has done me justice, and I am happy with this remedy because it shows the truth,” she added.
The International Olympic Committee, once the failed test by Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-Ting became the subject of controversy, defended the athletes.
In the statement, the IOC said the two boxers “were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision” and that “[t]he 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.”
Yes, but it doesn’t deny that the test results were valid, relying instead on its current row with the IBA. The IOC has banned the boxing body from governing Olympic events over finance and governance issues — but if its tests were inaccurate, that would be another thing entirely.
“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,” the IOC added in a joint statement with the Paris Boxing Unit. “As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.”
If there’s one thing I’ve learned with sociopolitical hot-button issues, it’s this: If one side is bringing up ancillary issues that don’t have anything to do with the root issue, it’s because they don’t want to talk about the root issue, because the facts that the other side are bringing up are accurate.
If Khelif does not have DSD or XY chromosomes, all this takes is an independent test to prove that. If the IOC has evidence, now that governing its own boxing competitions, that female fighters with XY chromosomes don’t have an unfair advantage which not only compromises fairness but also individual safety, meanwhile, they’ve had ample time to bury critics its decision to allow Khelif and Lin to compete under an avalanche of studies which prove that their criteria — gender and nationality listed on passport — are good enough.
This criticism isn’t bullying. Furthermore, as an individual in the public eye whose decisions will be scrutinized as such, Khelif could have made the decision 1) not to compete or 2) to make public evidence which disproves the IBA’s findings. Neither has been made, making this inevitable.
And, of course, one understands that wokeistas have a vested interest in not only ensuring Khelif is allowed to compete but shaming those who think it might be more prudent to err on the side of caution. By even admitting that biology can determine some immutable physical characteristics for an intersex individual, that completely blows up the reasoning behind allowing transgender men to compete in women’s sports.
Reality, alas, remains an undefeated boxer. As heartbreaking and cruel as some of the realities behind the rare condition Khelif is reported to have may be, they do still remain realities. What can definitely destroy people is unfair fights at the highest level, either through traumatic brain injury or other serious condition. Pointing this out isn’t bullying, merely the acknowledgement of the facts. Trying to spin it any other way is fighting a losing battle.
