Both Democrat Kamala Harris’ campaign and the White House remained silent when contacted by news organizations Thursday morning about whether they support intersex, trans, or biologically male athletes competing against biological females at the Olympics.
Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign quickly slammed the notion as outrage surrounds the fighter from Algeria caught in the middle of a gender eligibility controversy after their opponent, Angela Carini from Italy, withdrew from the match 46 seconds into the fight because of the impact of the punch.
“President Trump has been unequivocally clear that he will NOT stand for men competing in women’s sports — an insane and unfair reality that has been allowed to transpire because of Radical Left politicians like Kamala Harris. When he returns to the White House, President Trump will take immediate action to protect women and girls and overturn the Harris-Biden Administration’s radical rewrite of Title IX,” said a Trump campaign spokesperson.
The Algerian Olympian, Imane Khelif, was disqualified from the 2023 World Boxing Championships after the International Boxing Association determined that Khelif failed gender tests. Per Reuters, Khelif — who is listed as “female” on her passport — was discovered to have elevated testosterone levels.
According to Italy’s ANSA, “I got into the ring to fight,” said Carini. I didn’t give up, but one punch hurt too much, and so I said enough.”
“I’m going out with my head held high.”
According to the Russian Tass News Agency, Umar Kremlev, IBA President, explained the decision at the time, saying that based on DNA tests, “we identified a number of athletes who tried to trick their colleagues into posing as women. According to the results of the tests, it was proved that they have XY chromosomes.”
“Such athletes were excluded from competition,” said Kremlev.
Khelif was approved to compete by the International Olympic Committee, and the Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) addressed the criticisms before Thursday’s event.
“COA strongly condemns the unethical targeting and maligning of our esteemed athlete, Imane Khelif, with baseless propaganda from certain foreign media outlets,” said the organization.
“Such attacks on her personality and dignity are deeply unfair, especially as she prepares for the pinnacle of her career at the Olympics. The COA has taken all necessary measures to protect our champion.”
Italian officials expressed concern about the eligibility of the Algerian fighter
Officials from Italy expressed concern about Khelif’s eligibility. “It is surprising that there are no certain, strict, uniform criteria at the international level,” said Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi, adding that it was strange “that there can be a suspicion of an unfair and potentially dangerous contest for one of the contenders at the Olympics, and event that symbolizes sporting fairness.”
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph, “It was not an even contest.”
“I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions. And not because you want to discriminate against someone, but to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms,” said Meloni.
This isn’t the first controversy to surface since the Olympics started last week. Olympic organizers faced fierce backlash from Christians and others around the world regarding the 2024 opening ceremonies, during which a scene featuring drag queens and a woman with a halo crown appeared to mock the Leonardo da Vinci painting of the Last Supper of Jesus.
If elected, Harris is expected to further the Biden administration’s efforts to expand Title IX, the civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in federally funded educational institutions and schools, to include protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
LGBTQ+ activists supported the change as necessary to prevent trans students from facing specific restrictions. The rule went into effect on August 1.
