Just a week after its controversial opening ceremony, the Paris Olympics are once again in the spotlight — and again for the wrong reasons.
On Thursday, August 1, Italian boxer Angela Carini stopped her fight with transgender fighter Imane Kelip in protest, lasting less than a minute in the ring.
“I couldn’t continue. I had a huge pain in my nose and I said, ‘Stop.’ It was better not to continue. From the first blow, water started dripping out of my nose,” Carini said after Thursday’s 66kg bout. “It could have been the best fight of my life, but at that moment, I had to protect my life.”
Kelly was disqualified from the 2023 Women’s World Championships in New Delhi after failing a gender test. A video posted by the International Olympic Committee showed Kirsty Burroughs, head of the Department of Sport Safety, discussing the issue separately, but it was not well-received on social media amid the boxing controversy.
“When we talk about safe sport, we’re talking about safe exercise environments, both physically and psychologically, and that’s mental health and protection,” Burroughs said. “I’m very pleased that Paris 2024 will have the most comprehensive mental health and protection package of any Olympic or sporting event in history—safe sport initiatives, services, infrastructure.”
“Women’s safety, rights, and mental health don’t seem as important as catering to male fantasies,” designer Cynthia Breney shared on X.
Also responding to Burroughs’s views, Amy E. Sosa, a Washington-based lecturer with a master’s degree in psychology, shared on X: “To ensure safety in women’s sports, especially boxing, the IOC should reintroduce sex testing in women’s sports. This is what the vast majority of women want!” https://x.com/KnownHeretic/status/1818998970678735205
Harry Potter author JK Rowling also took to social media to support Italian boxer Angela Carini. “A young female boxer was robbed of everything she worked for and trained for because you allowed a man to get in the ring with her. You are a disgrace, your ‘protection’ is a joke, and #Paris24 will be forever tainted by the cruel injustice inflicted on Carini,” Rowling said, resharing a video posted by the Olympic Committee.
Actor James Dreyfuss, famous for his role in the British TV sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, said: “What I saw was a woman getting hit in the head so hard by a man that she wisely chose to stop it because she knew that if she didn’t stop it she would be seriously injured or worse. Blood, sweat, tears, training, dreams… shattered… the absolute state of this…”
Arzu Yildiz, an Ontario-based journalist and author, shared on X: “This is not fair. The Olympic Committee is ignoring the efforts of female athletes. They cannot have them compete against biological males. Especially in a sport where physical superiority directly impacts outcomes! I feel very sorry for Angela Carini (#Italy) and it was the right thing for her to withdraw. We stand with her.”
consolation prize
American YouTuber Jake Paul took to the internet today to offer Angela Carini a chance to return to the ring and fight a biological woman.
“To Angela Carini: Even though your dream can’t come true today because of the crazy agenda going on in our world right now, I would like to offer you a fight on the MVP undercard. To show the world your talent on a fair platform and not against a man. Internet, help me find her,” the influencer shared with her 4.6 million followers on X.
The IOC says Khelif is listed as female on her passport and meets the eligibility requirements. IOC spokesman Mark Adams also noted that Khelif has lost to other women over the years.
