IOC President Seeks Scientific Way To Identify Man, Woman

One of the biggest stories of the Summer Olympics in Paris has been the saga of the XY boxers tearing through the women's competition. While this appears to be a gray area in some respects, the difference between males and females is a pretty cut-and-dry topic.

Unless you're International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

The IOC boss told the media that we still need a scientific way to identify men and women.

…you mean by, like, checking their chromosomes?

"We have said from the very beginning if someone is presenting us a scientifically solid system (for) how to identify men and women, we are the first ones to do it," Bach said. We do not like this uncertainty. We do not like it for the overall situation for nobody,

"So we would be more than pleased to look into it."

Alright… who wants to tell him?

IOC president Thomas Bach is looking for scientific ways to tell men and women apart… just not any of the science people are trying to show him. (Photo by George Mattock/Getty Images)

Thomas Bach Wants To Follow Science… Just Not The Science We Already Have

This sounds like when OJ said he was going to set out to find the real killer. Bach knows as well as all of us that there is a scientific way to make this determination and it's by looking at an athlete's chromosomes. The International Boxing Association did exactly this, however, but because the IOC and the IBA don't exactly see eye to eye, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said they couldn't tell if the tests were credible or not because they came from the IBA which they deem "not credible."

So, let's look at that again: because they don't like where the scientific facts — that two boxers' blood test displayed male karyotypes — you can't believe it?

That's some serious mental gymnastics. 

Unfortunately, especially as it relates to sex and gender, science is completely out the window. It's insane that people like Bach can sit there and say, "We're looking for scientific tests to determine an athlete's gender," then someone holds them right in front of his face and he's like, "Not those, though."

Look, if Bach had the stones to admit that he really didn't have a problem with boxers XY chromosomes competing against women that's one thing. Is it wrong? Sure, but at least he'd be honest about his stance.

Instead, he's just playing dumb like there isn't scientific proof that something's amiss. It doesn't appear to be a simple situation, but the IOC seems completely disinterested in getting to the bottom of it and preserving the integrity of women's sports.