Republicans irate after female Olympic boxer quits match after fighting 'biological male'

Republicans are outraged after a female Olympic boxer had to compete against a a woman some are labeling a 'biological male,' re-igniting the controversial topic of gender and fairness in sports.

The boxing match took place Thursday at the 2024 Olympic games in Paris. It featured Italy's Angela Carini and her Algerian opponent, Imane Khelif, a who identifies as a woman.

46 seconds after the opening bell Carini, having already injured her nose after a few shots from Khelif threw her headgear on the ring apron.

"This is unjust", Carini cried out, according to the Daily Mail, before collapsing in tears on the canvas after the winner was offically announced.

After the match, a visibly tearful Carini explained that she had decided to quit due to severe pain in her nose following the initial blows. With a small amount of blood on her trunks, Carini clarified that her decision was not a political statement and that she was not refusing to face Khelif, according to the Associated Press.

"I felt a severe pain in my nose, and with the maturity of a boxer, I said 'enough,' because I didn't want to, I didn't want to, I couldn't finish the match," Carini said.

'I'm used to suffering. I've never taken a punch like that, it's impossible to continue. I'm nobody to say it's illegal." the heartbroken Italian said after the match.

Khelif, for her part, had previously been banned from the 2023 World Championships as she was deemed a "biological male."

The International Olympic Committee, the organization that oversees the Olympic Games, said Khelif met the eligibility rules to compete as a woman for the Paris games.

The event triggered a social media firestorm from Republicans, who often come out in opposition to transgender people identifying as women competing in biological women's sporting events.

Marjorie Taylor Green, Republican Representative from Georgia, took to X to voice her anger.

Colorado's Lauren Bobert, representative of the 3rd District, followed suite.

"This crap has gone too far. SAVE WOMENS SPORTS!" she exclaimed.

Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, also sounded off on X.

"We Republicans think it's WEIRD that men hitting women in the face is an Olympic sport," he said, voicing the meme that has been making the rounds in political circles of calling Republicans "weird".

The International Olympic Commitee (IOC) launched a response to the outrage and the disqualification of two athletes towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023.

"We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024," the IOC stated.

"The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure - especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years."

"These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA (International Boxing Association). Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process."

The IOC goes on to clarify that the decision, made solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO, was later ratified by the IBA Board, which then called for a clear procedure on gender testing to be established.

"Eligibility rules should not be changed during ongoing competition, and any rule change must follow appropriate processes and should be based on scientific evidence," the statement explained.

"The IBA's recognition was withdrawn by the IOC in 2023 following its suspension in 2019. The withdrawal of recognition was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). See the IOC's statement following the ruling," revealed the IOC.

Tags

Boxing, Olympics, Transgender, Paris, Republicans