AP under fire after Olympic boxer who failed gender test named among ‘Female Athletes of Year’

The Olympic boxer who failed a gender test, but competed against women at the summer games in Paris was named among the top “Female Athletes of the Year” by the Associated Press. 

The move has prompted harsh criticism. 

Riley Gaines, host of the “Gaines for Girls” podcast, joined “Fox & Friends” Friday morning to react to professional Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was named among the top female athletes of 2024.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) faced global criticism at this summer’s Paris Olympics when Khelif and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan won gold medals in women’s boxing. Both athletes had previously been disqualified from international competitions for failing gender eligibility tests. However, the IOC and current President Thomas Bach voiced support for both athletes. 

“This was a male boxer, who was previously barred from world championships for failing a simple sex eligibility requirement test, [in] which the only requirement was to have two X chromosomes,” Gaines said. “He failed that and now his medical record, even in further detail, has been leaked by a French journalist, which, might I add, the IOC had the entire time.” 

Critics have quickly blasted the AP’s decision. One of the most prominent detractors, former professional tennis player Martina Navratilova posted to X: “Wtaf???” when she heard the news. 

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“They knew this when he stole a gold medal from a deserving woman at the Games,” Gaines added. “It has showed us that Khelif, not only does he have XY chromosomes, he has male levels of testosterone, no uterus, testicles and word-for-word, a micro penis.”

In 2023, the International Boxing Association disqualified Khelif because of the failure of that gender test, but the IOC continued to defend and allow Khelif into the 2024 Olympics to compete against women. Italian boxer Angela Carini forfeited her fight against Khelif right after it began once she realized she was at an unfair advantage. 

Gaines said the message the AP was sending by awarding Khelif the honor was to punish women for speaking out. 

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“Bottom line is these athletic bodies, similar to corporate America, similar to academia, similar to our government, to the media, really, what they follow is, is green,” Gaines said. “They don’t necessarily follow red or blue. They follow green. So we have to hit them where they’re where it hurts and that is their pockets.” 

“I believe we should see these female athletes suing the IOC again for knowing that this was a male leading up to the games, yet continuing to put these women in harm’s way,” she added. 

“Forget about the fairness aspect. The Olympics, the IOC, knowingly put these women in danger by putting them in a ring with a male who had the intention of knocking them unconscious.”