“If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and sounds like a duck… leave it out of the Olympic Games” seems to be the message coming from Paris 2024.
Many believe boxers Iman Khalifa and Lin Yu-Ting will reach the podium next week.
But how sad it is that a global event with so many stories – of triumph, adversity, heartbreak and hard work in the face of all odds – is focusing on the backstories of these two individuals.
Everyone has their own opinion. And everyone has a right to their own opinion.
But those who make the loudest noises, like J.K. Rowling – who really should return to Privet Drive and drop some virulent anti-trans diatribes – need to be careful.
When the writer referred to the athletes as “men,” she knew what she was doing: stoking a firestorm of hate and inflaming a misinformed public.
This was very irresponsible.
Because in Algeria, where Khalif comes from, it is illegal to be gay, let alone transgender, and the boxer has been accused of the same.
In fact, she has become the world’s first fictional trans Olympian.
But she is not transgender. And never has been.
Because, as is so often the case these days, misinformation, conspiracies, and gross exaggeration are rampant.
And how sad and horrible it would be for those vocal individuals who claimed to stand up for women to later see two women murdered by a hate mob.
Where was JK’s outrage over convicted Dutch male rapist Steven van de Velde being allowed to compete in beach volleyball?
Or, if she is so concerned about beneficial hormones, where was her anger at China’s gold medal-winning 4x100m medley team, which included two swimmers who had previously tested positive for doping?
Yesterday, the Algerian athlete described scrutiny of her gender as “detrimental to human dignity” and begged people to “refrain from bullying”.
And then the International Boxing Association, the body that initially claimed the pair had failed “eligibility tests” without explaining what those tests were, openly harassed him.
The IBA, which has been banned from regulating Olympic boxing because of administrative problems, a lack of financial transparency and several alleged cases of corruption, has let its apparently insane Russian chief, Umar Kremlev, speak.
Kremlev said sensitively: “The tests showed they were men. We did not verify what was between their legs. We don’t know if they were born that way or if they had some changes made to them.”
What’s really disappointing is that boxers and their governing bodies are refusing to reveal what tests they actually had. And they are partly to blame for that.
Does this couple have a condition like Swyer syndrome which means they have female reproductive organs but high testosterone levels? Are they intersex? How high is their testosterone?
Of course, they shouldn’t take off their shorts and show their genitals to the world.
But they will have to show more transparency.
The IOC’s negligence towards testing procedures also needs to be addressed.
And if these women do in fact have a grossly unfair advantage, then that needs to be dealt with – and yes, maybe they should compete alongside the men, albeit in lighter weight classes.
After all, the hurt feelings of these athletes should not trump the common sense and goodness of their XX-chromosome counterparts.
Safety should come first for everyone.
And that means no more rumors, no more conspiracy theories and no more wild speculation. Just the facts.
