Why Are Men Still Allowed To Batter Women In Their Own Sports?
In early August, Italian boxer Angela Carini faced Algeria’s Imane Khelif in an Olympic women’s boxing match that lasted only 46 seconds, ending after Carini suffered two punches to the face, prompting her to declare the bout “unjust” and leave the ring. This fight ignited controversy, as Khelif is involved in a debate over gender eligibility in sports, having failed gender tests but still being allowed to compete by the International Olympic Committee despite disqualification from the International Boxing Association. Carini expressed maturity in her decision to step back from the fight, wishing Khelif success in future competitions.
This incident has raised broader questions about the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports, as seen in various other cases across the U.S. where female athletes have faced injuries from opponents assumed to have male biological advantages. Critics argue that this situation undermines the integrity of women’s sports and increases risks for female athletes. The Biden-Harris administration’s recent efforts to redefine “sex” under Title IX to include gender identity have further fueled the debate, risking to sideline female athletes in their own sports. The ongoing discussion underscores the challenges faced in ensuring fair competition and safety in women’s athletics.
On the first of this month, Italian female boxer Angela Carini matched up against Algeria’s Imane Khelif, but the fight didn’t last long. After enduring two punches to the face, Carini left the Olympic women’s boxing match 46 seconds in, saying she had “never taken a punch like that.” She dejectedly collapsed in the ring and pronounced the fight “unjust.”
Khelif is one of two boxers in women’s boxing who is in the middle of a controversy involving failed eligibility requirements placed by the International Boxing Association. Last year, the IBA president told Russian news that the boxers had XY chromosomes based on a genetic test. While the IBA disqualified Khelif and the other boxer, the International Olympic Committee allowed them to compete, calling into question the IOC’s safety standards for women’s sports. For her part, Carini followed up by saying in the aftermath that her decision stemmed from having “the maturity to stop” and wished her opponent well in future matches.
In light of the firestorm of knee-jerk reactions, accusations, and name-calling that took place on social media once the story broke, it’s worth taking a beat and asking ourselves: Why are we having this impassioned debate in the first place?
Payton McNabb of North Carolina suffered a severe injury in September 2022 when, during a high school volleyball match, an opponent spiked the ball into her face, resulting in a concussion and neck injury that led to impaired vision, partial facial paralysis, headaches, anxiety, and depression — not to mention the hit knocked out some of her teeth. Because of the injury, she couldn’t compete in her final volleyball season.
In Massachusetts, a girls’ high school basketball team forfeited a game at halftime after several players suffered injuries at the hand of another player, with the coach saying his roster was depleted just days before a playoff game. A few months before in the same state, a girls’ field hockey player suffered a painful injury when she was struck in the face by a ball.
Sports injuries are an unfortunate reality, especially in high-contact sports such as the ones mentioned above. However, a common thread in all of these instances is that these girls suffered injuries caused by reportedly male athletes. It’s one thing to compete against someone on an equal playing field; it’s completely demoralizing to square up against someone with natural physical advantages that not only significantly decrease your chances of victory but also increase the risk of injury.
While international sports leagues like the International Rugby League and World Aquatics have recognized the harm in allowing men to compete against women, the Biden-Harris administration is actively working to continue this dangerous trajectory for women’s sports.
The administration worked to tamper with federal law by changing the definition of “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity” — a change that went into effect just as Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles became two of the most decorated female athletes in Olympic history. If this rule change is allowed to stand, girls who look up to athletes like Ledecky and Biles could be relegated to bystanders in their own sports. A law change like this would elevate the situations highlighted in North Carolina and Massachusetts to a national scale. And up-and-coming female athletes would not be the only ones affected; all girls would see their private spaces — from locker rooms to hotel rooms on overnight trips — be open to male students.
Alliance Defending Freedom, where I serve as legal counsel, is part of a large group of organizations and states trying to stop the effort to effectively erase needed distinctions between the sexes. In five different lawsuits, we have achieved five injunctions, or pauses, on the rule change, which takes effect while the cases proceed. We’re involved in defending state laws, like Idaho’s and West Virginia’s, that protect women’s athletics.
But still, as the emotional conversation around the Olympic boxing controversy showed, it’s baffling that we’ve gone this far. Women deserve privacy, safety, and a fair chance to compete. Athletic associations and government officials need to open their eyes to this reality and stand in favor of women against an ideology that threatens their unique place in humanity.
Rachel Rouleau is legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal).
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