J.K. Rowling is back to gender policing athletes, this time at the Paralympic Games

After tainting her legacy and continuously embarrassing herself with monstrous takes about the trans community over the years, J.K. Rowling is now directing her attention towards Paralympic athletes.

Rowling’s latest target is Italian Paralympic sprinter Valentina Petrillo. The 51-year-old Petrillo, who is visually impaired, has been competing in the women’s category since 2019, when she medically transitioned. She ran a personal best in the semifinals of the women’s T12 400m event on September 2, but came in third in her heat and will not move on to the finals. She will also be participating in the women’s T12 200m category. But she’s also had to deal with bigoted comments from Rowling as well as some former Olympians.

Rowling shared her disgusting remarks about the Italian sprinter via X (formerly Twitter), where the majority of her poorly researched and vitriolic takes gain traction through right-wing engagement. The Harry Potter series author repeatedly used the word “cheat” in varying capacities while referring to Petrillo and the trans community, without (as of yet) getting a community note on the post.

The Italian athlete had undergone gender reassignment surgery in 2019, which included testosterone suppression and hormone therapy. She held a dream of becoming a sprinter since childhood, but her progress was halted when she was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, which is a rare eye condition that leads to loss of vision in adulthood.

Petrillo has kept a relatively positive outlook despite receiving so much hate in the last few days, calling for fair treatment of the trans community. She told The Athletic:

Don’t treat trans people badly. We suffer. It’s not fair. We don’t hurt anybody. It’s all so beautiful [at the Paralympics]. Afterwards how will it be out there? It’s not beautiful like this. It’s not all purple out there.”

She continued:

“It’s September 2, 2024 right? Let’s mark this down as a historic day. From this day forth I don’t want to hear any more talk about discrimination or prejudice for trans people.

“There are so many people who die for the mere fact of being trans people, who kill themselves for the mere fact of being trans because they lose their job because the sport doesn’t include them and now I’ve made it so we can all make it if I’ve made it, I’ve done my little bit and we can all make it.”

Rowling, meanwhile, drew attention for her comments on Algerian boxer Imane Khelif last month during the Paris Olympics, accusing her of being a man competing in the women’s game. Khelif won her event and then filed a criminal complaint in a French court against her bullies, with Rowling and X owner Elon Musk’s names being present in the lawsuit.

Following the revelation of a lawsuit, there was a temporary silence from J.K. Rowling, but it appears that she’s back to her vile ways. At the risk of peddling unsolicited advice, she’d be better off focusing on the mold that’s taking shape inside her residence.