Algerian boxer filing legal claim over online harrassment

It’s utterly heart breaking to imagine what Imane Khelif must be going through. To have your identity questioned and to be publicly called a man must be incredibly painful, especially after dedicating your life to your sport and achieving such success. I can’t even begin to fathom how devastating it must be to face that kind of scrutiny and cruelty from people who don’t know you.

How many of us have ever had our chromosomes checked at birth? Most of us simply take our identity for granted, without ever having to prove it to anyone. At what point do people think she “became” a man? The idea is absurd and dehumanizing. Imane has been living her life as a woman, facing all the challenges and triumphs that come with it, and now she’s being forced to defend her very existence.

No one deserves to go through this kind of public trial. The focus should be on supporting her as a person, respecting her identity, and recognizing the hard work and dedication she’s put into her sport. It’s a reminder of the importance of empathy and kindness, especially in situations where we might not fully understand someone else’s experience.

No because they were within the rules at the time they won. It would be deemed unfair to strip retrospectively (despite it being unfair to all the women that they were allowed to compete in the first place).

Khelif signed the death warrant for any boxing career when khelif got into the ring and hit Angela Carini. Khelif will never be able to become a professional boxer so Khelif needs to become a household name and make money being a celebrity.

Very interesting- I'd not be at all surprised if Khelif has internal male genitalia.

If Khalif is proven to be a man genetically, surely the medal will be void?

The IOC are entirely to blame for letting it get this far and asking ‘what is a woman’! FFS!

I’ve read an awful lot of info from Dr Emma Hamilton and watched her being interviewed by Andrew Gold, anyone who still doesn’t understand about DSD and the unfairness in these two athletes being allowed to compete in the 2024 Olympics, please give the interview a watch. It’s on Twitter!

I only hope by 2028 normality will resume and cheek swabs reintroduced, so that we don’t have to witness this shitshow ever again!

Khelif is extremely unlikely to be able to go professional in any reputable way within organised boxing.

Though I'm sure there's financial opportunities outside organised boxing to beat up women and broadcast it, outside organised boxing.

I don't think it cuts off all financial opportunities by any means. It just means the market is less respected and respectable.

Couldn't possibly be a financial grift rather than privacy could it? 🤔

(Of course it fucking is. My only question is to the extent Khelif is in on that)

As a lot of us suspected, this whole thing is about the money with Khelif. Now the Olympic prize money has been won the route to boxing winnings has probably been cut off (as, hopefully, whoever takes over responsibility from the IBA will ban XYs from women's events). I guess Khelif will concentrate on suing people and sad face interviews from now on.

French privacy law is very strict.

However it was known in France that the two boxers were banned previously for a medical reason cos it happened outside France and french law wouldn't and couldn't stop reporting of a ban. So in was publicly known in France.

Discussion about the nature of that ban would be allowed in France but not the individual personal details if they were made public within France.

It can't cover if it was revealed outside France. Only the reporting of that within France.

If publication is outside France (eg twitter) it raises questions about twitter and liability.

It becomes an issue of American Freedom of speech versus French Privacy law and which takes superiority (and where!) and what the implications of that are.

It then becomes about the US and France in terms of enforcement and enforceability and who, if anyone, is personally responsible.

Would Elon Musk be arrested if he visited France is a more interesting question. Followed by what would Elon do if that happened.

Personally I think taking on Musk on what essentially his hill to die on (even though DSDs are not the same as Trans - the issue of legality to participate due to an F in your passport rather than biology and science unites the issue somewhat), is something of a 'brave' move.

I suspect Musk would rather give up on all support for Tesla in France than capitulate.

If this battle happened then individual boxers at the centre of that, become small fry, and unlikely to be protected from online harassment outside France. Which seems to defeat the point.

Unless of course it's not about privacy at all and it's really about gaming the system for a nice big fat pay out.

Generally we are told, over and over again, if you have a penis you are male.

Well yes. But that doesn’t mean the converse is true. You can be male, and not have a penis, or what looks like a penis. This is where the DSDs come in.

Might the other competitor's teams take some kind of legal action against the IOC, I wonder?

I am struggling to understand the mindset of someone who files a legal claim now but who didn't bother going through with an appeal that would have ended the controversy.

Indeed, international law hasn't kept up with technology. I have a law degree (not UK) and I still have absolutely no idea how it works when the complainant in country A is suing someone in country B, who posted information from an organistion based in country C on a platform based in country D (which is insisting it's a carrier not a publisher). It makes my head hurt.

Mainstream media, yes agreed.

Normal people, much less so (although TBF much as I strive not to have a twitter echo chamber I do block outright misogynists).

I don't do politics on FB cos it upsets some men in California.

French jurisdiction has limitations though.

What can be reported IN France is different to the rest of the world.

So you wouldnt be able to say certain things in France but take one step over the border and you could and the French courts could not do a thing about it.

French law only applies to France.

Twitter could be taken to court for allowing JKRs posts in France (which is a way to produce international censorship of certain subjects - which we have seen before). I'm fairly sure that Elon won't tolerate that and would get into an almighty row with the French government over that point because of the very subject of this.

It raises wider questions about international borders, the law and censorship.

But it's not a problem for JKR either way. JKR isn't going to be arrested if she decides to go on holiday to France.

But privacy was given up by competing, which was a choice. If someone is lying publicly in a way that disadvantages others I expect any claims no-one else can talk about that are likely to be dismissed.

https://www.iba.sport/news/iba-clarifies-the-facts-the-letter-to-the-ioc-regarding-two-ineligible-boxers-was-sent-and-acknowledged/

Yes it was disclosed in one of the letters linked from this press release, as was Lin's.

You could be right. I was responding to another poster.

That kind of action would be fair. But it's arguably not necessarily in the best interests of the athlete even though it's potentially very winnable.

People don't seem to be grasping that this is a lucrative point and there's multiple levels of potential grifting and exploitation.

Disgusting comment.

That makes sense.

But I believe it was the media outlet to whom the tests were leaked who actually published Khelif's email address - inadvertently, I would hope.

Of course, if a brilliant female can beat a male with his genetic advantage, then that argues for the inclusion of males with DSDs in the male category 🤷🏼‍♀️ own goal there 🤣

I've just looked at the French legislation. Truth is not an admissable defense to libel where the facts in question concern a person's privacy.

Having looked at some legal type accounts in X, their consensus seems to be that if any litigation is gone ahead with, it would be about personal harassment of Khelif - not about stating that he is a male. Equally it looks a lot like showboating, so it probably won't happen.

It seems like some of the IBA material inadvertently disclosed his email address. Though I only heard that from a couple of sources, so may not be correct.

So all the JKR haters can stand down. Once again, she is not going to be sued for calling a spade a spade.

One woman beats man.

How many women must a man injure badly before he gets beaten by that woman to 'prove' that it's 'fair' because a woman can beat a man?

Think about this.