of Khelif as ‘transphobia and misinformation’. None offered a word of concern for the women in the ring.
The media, of course, played their part. From the BBC to the Associated Press, most outlets dutifully referred to Khelif as ‘she’, presenting him as a victim of conservative backlash or of a sinister Kremlin plot. Predictably, the Guardian went one further, publishing a spectacularly unhinged piece that framed concerns about Khelif punching women as the rantings of tradwives and MAGA trolls.
Perhaps the most glaring hypocrisy came from boxing pundit Steve Bunce. Last year, he said of Khelif on the BBC, ‘Despite what you’ve read in the newspapers, she has always been a she’, while condemning the IBA’s sex testing. Yet this week, he attempted a feint. He claimed he supports reliable sex tests while dismissing criticism of Khelif as a ‘witch hunt’ based on his appearance. It’s fair to say, he was bested on social media.
To be clear, Khelif is not claiming to be trans. He is simply a man with a genetic disorder. Yet last year, a legion of commentators and organisations were sure he was a woman and convinced he had been persecuted. Just as with the debates around trans participation in sport, the people who assume they know best decided women’s right to fair competition doesn’t matter.
The IOC and those complicit commentators and journalists could have listened to the women who took the punches. They could have followed the IBA’s lead. They could have used their eyes. But there was more social currency in defending the indefensible. For some supposedly kind and enlightened people, it seems that a man punching a woman in the face is a sign of progress. Their contempt for women’s sport and safety is shameful.
It's curious that those most determined to ignore the evidence, and cheer on the sight of men beating up women for sport, are those who think of themselves as progressive and kind. Well, that's where we are…
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