THANK YOU MATTHEW PINSENT

The IOC have not made a secret that they were willing to boot any journalist who didn't tow the official line about the boxing.

I'm not speculating on this. It's been stated by a number of sources.

If anything Pinsent's comments were deliberately challenging the IOC and I feel it was probably the 'unofficial official' response from the BBC sports editorial team. Not just Pinsent. Pinsent probably was willing to do it because he feels that way personally. But there are various other reasons he was the best man (yep man) for the job. If Clare Balding had done it she would be more targeted. As would any other female presenter.

Pinsent as a former competitor rather than professional pundit also makes a lot of sense too.

Pinsent was elected to the International Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission in 2001 and served for a number of years. For those who don't understand the significance of this, this group is elected by athletes who take part in the games and is their link between the athletes and the IOC itself.
See here for more:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOC_Athletes%27_Commission

Remember he is also officially Sir Matthew Pinsent, is Oxford Educated and went to Eton.

All of this makes him hard to argue with for various reasons. He was willing to do it, but I'd put money on him being a choice by a team rather than it purely him acting alone.

The problem with Tom Daley is that he did that documentary on lgbt sport and said there wasn't enough evidence to ban Transwomen from female sports iirc.

that makes sense-but it also accounts.maybe, for why he didn't say anything till the games were over-they (the IOC) could hardly chuck him off after the end of the games without looking even more stupid. Still, look on the bright side everyone-this is Isla Bryson on fucking steroids all over the entire planet.

I think he did. I am sure they'd all been legalled' on the subject. Pinsent's piece smacked of having been thoroughly given a legal vetting prior to him saying it. It said enough without saying certain things.

I don't think it was just Pinsent saying it from how it was said either. It smelt of Pinsent speaking for a number of presenters or BBC staff or athletes.

Pinsent is well spoken, exceptionally respected and middle class. He's one of those who is effectively harder to touch than pretty much anyone else saying it because of who he is.

@Apolloneuro please explain how it is homophobic to state that he bought a woman's baby? He did. And his partner was very close friends with notorious nonce Bryan Singer. And announced his relationship with Tom D when Tom was19 and he was 39.
How are facts homophobic
I'm gay and want to know. Thanks

They all were under contract by the IOC not to say anything or lose their accreditation.

Pinsent's comments came AFTER the conclusion of the last event. This the IOC having a tantrum about it would largely be pointless. Going forward to LA Pinsent is unlikely to lose his accreditation because the way he framed it makes it difficult for the IOC to ban him without looking like massive dicks.

So I think it's also a matter of timing. Pinsent didn't say anything up until this point. He could have.

Boxing aside, at least the problem has been front and centre all over the world, imagine how many folk have been peaked - including men!

I think the IOC need to take very quick action. Otherwise the next Olympics could have way more than two athletes who’ve previously failed gender/sex tests. The fact that they have previously failed tests makes it utterly irrelevant what it says in their passports or how they have lived. They needed an urgent re-test by the IOC.

I am surprised China have not complained bitterly about the medal in the 66kg category. Had the Algerian boxer not been in the competition, the Chinese opponent would have won
gold. And that would have made China the top of the medal table, above USA - world domination across the sports.

Paris did a wonderful olympics. It’s a shame they did not make proper checks on these two athletes.

Id like to see duplicate gold medals awarded to the silver athletes. I do have sympathy for Khelif so wouldn’t withdraw her gold medal. She has lived as a girl/woman since she was born and she obviously has a medical issue, whatever that may be. That must be hard for her, but women’s sports must not be destroyed as a result. The IOC has let women down.

They often do. Sigh.

BBC pundit and Olympic hero Matthew Pinsent hits out over handling of women's boxing gender row as Imane Khelif flashes gold medal at closing ceremony | Daily Mail Online

Won't solve anything though, as how long before the issue arises in a different sport?

Unfortunately I assume there was an immediate discussion afterwards on how to reeducate him.
i think the ioc plan to deal with this was to have booted boxing out at the next Olympics- they let the whole issue go through to keeper thinking ah we’re nearly rid of boxing anyway, then found that a failed strategy.

I don’t think it’s homophobic?

I think the cheetah would win

@RedToothBrush YES! I agree with you totally.

Tom Daley bought his children, its not homophobic to say that, its just a fact.

And THANK YOU Matthew Pinsent (descended from God..... as shown on his episode of Who do you think you are?) for speaking out about blatant cheating by men.

Thank you Matthew Pinsent - just wish more men were speaking up too.

So saying Tom Daley used a surrogate to obtain a child is homophobic? Obviously he knew the surrogate would be a woman, his own sexuality is irrelevant here.
Several well-known figures, men and women, are known to have used surrogates for their children, and more are suspected of doing so.
The issue of buying babies by using other women's bodies, abhorrent though it is, is a side issue -- the poster was pointing out Daley's hypocrisy.

I wonder if he'd cleared that with the producers beforehand? It was noticeable how Clare Balding was very movingswiftlyon any time the matter couldn't be avoided in the general coverage: you got a feeling that the presenters/experts had all had a visit from the Legal dept.

The 100 metres cat gender would feature a lot of curling up to sleep in a sunny spot if they'd trained properly.

cause they are all on The BBC payroll, which I presume Mathew is not. Even so, was half expecting him to be dragged off, stage left, with a shepherds crook, cosmo smallpiece style (one for the teenagers there)

Would that be the Serena Williams who had serious complications with... childbirth?

I was so pleased to hear Matthew Pinsent speaking so straightforwardly about the IOC fuck-up. It needed to be said.

But I don't recall any of the pundits in the studio responding. (except blandly.)

Talking about this at work and my colleague wanted to bring Serena Williams into the discussion 🙄

they need to bring back sex testing and stop with the whole ‘ooh a woman has muscles, she must be a man’

my colleague was all about how it’s not fair on the boxer to be excluded and I asked if it was fair on all the women boxers. She didn’t have an answer for that!!

anyway, I was impressed with how well Matthew pinsent put it

Tom Daley bought a baby.

So did Robbie Williams.

So did Paris Hilton.

They all bought babies. Its abhorrent to buy babies regardless of whether you are gay, straight, male or female.

Its not homophobic to say this.

Strangely this is the feminist section of MN which talks about how women are exploited and abused. Homosexuals are responsible for this when they buy babies.

Its awful that because Daley is an Olympic Superstar we apparently aren't allowed to be concerned about how he's been praised constantly this Olympics for bringing his purchase to watch how amazing he is.

We should be appalled by this celebration of surrogacy.

It's not homophobic.