After facing horrific bigoted attacks while participating in women’s boxing at the 2024 Olympics, Imane Khelif is speaking out against bullying athletes.
Recently, Khelif was at the center of a manufactured controversy from transphobic bigots like J.K. Rowling. After winning her match against Italian boxer Angela Carini, transphobes began spreading misinformation on the internet that Khelif, a cisgender woman, was transgender—or, more accurately, they accused her of being a man pretending to be a woman in order to win at sports. Numerous posts from people like Rowling and J.D. Vance spread like wildfire on the internet, attempting to raise hysteria by claiming a “man” beat up Carini at the Olympics. These hateful, bigoted attacks would be vile if Khelif were transgender but she’s not, making them vile and false.
Khelif is not transgender, nor is there any confirmation that she is intersex or has differences in sex development (DSD). All that is known is that she allegedly failed one “unspecified gender test” administered by the International Boxing Association, which has Russian ties and was permanently banned from the Olympics, after she defeated a Russian boxer. Despite countless reiterations that Khelif is a cis woman and the murky circumstances regarding her alleged failed gender test, conservatives have continued spreading lies and attacking her, prompting her to speak out about her experiences.
Imane Khelif breaks her silence after Olympic victory
Khelif rose above the hatred, stepping back into the ring on Saturday night and defeating Hungarian boxer Anna Luca Hamori, meaning she is now guaranteed to win a bronze medal or higher. The boxer was visibly emotional after the victory, as she stated, “I want to tell the entire world that I am a female, and I will remain a female.” The next day, she sat down for an interview with SNTV about her experiences.
She acknowledged the pain that the horrific lies have caused her, stating that they hurt her “human dignity.” On top of that, the controversy reached her family back home, who were scared for her. Khelif explained, “I am in contact with my family two days a week. I hope that they weren’t affected deeply. They are worried about me. God willing, this crisis will culminate in a gold medal, and that would be the best response.”
Meanwhile, she also took the opportunity to condemn the bullying of Olympic athletes in general. After all, the controversy doesn’t just include her. Fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting has been at the center of a similar storm of transphobia and misinformation.
To all the bullies, Khelif stated, “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. 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.”
Although she is trying to tune out the noise, she admitted that the ordeal hurt her and that “it wasn’t an easy thing to go through at all.” At the same time, she pointed out the positives in the situation, expressing her gratitude over how the IOC has vehemently defended her against the liars and how she had so many people cheering her as she fought Hamori.
Ultimately, she concluded that what people think of her isn’t going to stop her from getting a medal. She said, “I don’t care about anyone’s opinion. I came here for a medal and to compete for a medal. I will certainly be competing to improve [and] be better, and God willing, I will improve, like every other athlete.” It’s sad that Olympic athletes have to actually ask people to refrain from bullying them. Everyone knows these athletes are already under an unimaginable amount of pressure, so it’s unclear why some people decided to add more to Khelif’s load by spreading hateful lies about her.
Fortunately, she’s using her experience to vouch for her fellow athletes and demonstrate her immense strength by carrying on her mission to win gold.
Published: Aug 5, 2024 03:34 pm