Algerian boxer Imane Khelif shared a message for “all the people in the world” about bullying this week, following the controversy surrounding her gender at the Paris Olympics.
After being subject to misgendering and disqualification from competing with the International Boxing Association, which she’d previously said “committed an injustice” against her, Khelif said in a sit down with SNTV that people should “refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” and “[Bullying] 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.”
Before competing in the Paris Olympics, Khelif, along with fellow female boxer Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan, had been disqualified from competition by the IBA because they had XY chromosomes in their DNA. The association said in a statement that their genetic makeup had posed an unfair “advantage” and disqualified the athletes to “maintain the integrity of the competition.” The news had quickly become misconstrued, particularly in Khelif’s case, as she was widely misgendered by the press. The Boston Globe had to issue an apology after referring to Khelif as trans in a print headline.
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As the Olympics doesn’t use the IBA’s genetic testing and instead allows athletes to compete with the gender listed on their passport, both Khelif and Yu-ting were permitted to compete. Further controversy ensued for Khelif after she competed with Italian boxer Angela Carini in a match that lasted just 46 seconds, as Carini quit the match early because “I have never been hit so hard in my life,” she told reporters.
Carini tearfully shouted “It’s not fair,” following her tap out, further adding to calls that Khelif be banned from Olympics competition due to her male chromosomes. #IStandWithAngelaCarini trended on social media in support of Carini, as Khelif faced continued backlash.
Following her bronze win, the first for Algeria since 2000, Khelif shared her concern for her family amidst the bullying she’d been experiencing. “I am in contact with my family two days a week,” she said. “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.”
