IOC Doesn't Want People To 'Stigmatize' Males Competing In Women's Boxing
One of the major controversies at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France was the decision by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to allow two athletes with XY chromosomes to compete in women's boxing.
As OutKick reported, "two athletes were disqualified from The Women’s World Boxing Championships after questions surfaced regarding their biological sex. This week, those two athletes will compete in the Paris Olympics — as women."
Riley Gaines, host of the OutKick podcast "Gaines for Girls" and one of the most influential pro-woman voices in the country, said she feared that "A woman is going to die" because of the ruling that allows these athletes to punch women in the face.
While neither boxer has explicitly identified as transgender, it is suspected that both are impacted by a Difference of Sexual Development (DSD) — meaning they have both male and female genitalia — according to Reduxx.
On Wednesday, a reporter asked IOC spokesperson Mark Adams about the Committee's decision to allow these two athletes to compete in the women's category.
"These athletes, boxers, are entirely eligible. They are women on their passport. They've competed for many years," Adams said.
The IOC is allowing two athletes with XY chromosomes to compete in women's boxing and they continue to defend that decision.
(Luis Robayo/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
"I actually think it's not helpful to start stigmatizing people who take part in sports like this. But they are women. They competed in [the Tokyo Olympics]," he continued.
"I think we all have a responsibility, by the way, to try to dial down this and not turn it into some kind of witch hunt. These are regular athletes who have competed for many years in boxing."
Adams appeared visibly frustrated toward the end, and ended the news conference after giving his answer.
As frustrated as Adams appeared, just imagine how the female athletes feel. They are forced to get into a boxing ring with two athletes who hold a clear physical advantage over them in a sport where the goal is to hit the opponent as hard as possible.
For Adams to act like the reporter shouldn't have asked that question – or that outlets like OutKick shouldn't question these decisions – is absurd.
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It's perfectly reasonable to question the Olympic body allowing these athletes – who have been banned from other women's competitions – to compete in arguably the most prestigious athletics competition in history.
Granted, this is a unique situation, given that these athletes aren't necessarily transgender. But if they have both male and female sex characteristics, why wouldn't they compete as men instead of women?
The answer is obvious and also underscores exactly why so many are fighting to protect women's sports.