Former US President Donald Trump again sparked outrage for lashing out at two Olympic gold medalist female boxers, saying they are men while addressing a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. His comments have revived debates around issues of gender and sports since they were made in relation to his commitment to "keep men out of women's sports.".
Referring to the athletes from the recent Paris Olympics, Trump said, "They were men. They transitioned to women, and they were in the boxing," adding that it is "so demeaning to women."
Trump's comments at his rallies continue a pattern of frequently targeting transgender athletes.
The two Olympic gold medalists in focus, Li Yu-ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria, have been shrouded in worldwide controversy due to what many misunderstood as gender issues. Both athletes had already been barred from the Women's World Championships last year by the now-banned International Boxing Association, popularly known as IBA, due to alleged failures in gender eligibility tests, notwithstanding their being born and raised as women.
Khelif and Lin had also been cleared to box at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the women's boxing category but were instead disqualified from the Women's World Championships in India for elevated testosterone levels, the IBA announced. The decision of the IBA stripped the two boxers of their medals and banned them from women's events, which has been largely described as non-transparent and not fair.
Both Lin and Khelif have been allowed to compete by the International Olympic Committee, based on the gender that appears in their passports. The IOC has strongly condemned the harassment that Khelif has received since the IBA ruling was made. She has been targeted by abusers and threats online. Khelif spoke out against bullying, saying how it can ruin lives.
Trump's sustained attacks on Khelif, in which he went so far as to refer to this young woman as a man, have been widely condemned. The comments come at a time when debates over the place of transgender athletes in sports continue to rage, and not just in the United States—fully polarizing them.
Indeed, such incidents problematize much larger quandaries within which athletes like Khelif and Lin sit in issues surrounding gender and fairness and the place of sport at the intersection with identity.
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