Olympic boxer Imane Khelif calls for end to bullying after backlash over gender misconceptions
Olympic boxer Imane Khelif says the wave of hateful scrutiny she has faced over misconceptions about her gender “harms human dignity.”
PARIS (AP) — Olympic boxer Imane Khelif said the wave of hateful scrutiny she has faced over misconceptions about her gender “harms human dignity,” and she called for an end to bullying athletes after being greatly affected by the international backlash against her.
The Algerian athlete spoke about her tumultuous Olympic experience on Sunday night in an interview with SNTV, a sports video partner of The Associated Press.
“I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” Khelif said in Arabic. "It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”
The victories of Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan in the ring in Paris have become one of the biggest stories of the Paris Games. Both women have clinched their first Olympic medals even as they have faced online abuse based on unsubstantiated claims about their gender, drawing them into a wider divide over changing attitudes toward gender identity and regulations in sports.
