'WE NEED FAIRNESS'
‘There’s no way’ insists adamant Pat McAfee after gender row at Olympics where boxer quit to ‘save her life’
McAfee's take didn't sit well with a fellow NFL alumnus
PAT McAfee has weighed in on the ongoing gender row surrounding Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif.
A two-time Olympian, Khelif's win against Italy's Angela Carini sparked mass controversy on Thursday as many began to question her gender identity.
4
4
4
The win proved controversial as both Khelif and fellow competitor, Lin Yu‑ting of Taiwan, were disqualified from the 2023 Women's World Boxing Championships.
This was a result of them allegedly having failed gender eligibility tests, according to the International Boxing Association's president, via NBC News.
Appearing on his daily talk show, McAfee prefaced his take by admitting, "I haven't done enough research."
He subsequently explained that he was approaching the topic "from a very empathetic point of view," saying he imagined it "would be terrible if your soul did not match your physical body."
Read More on Pat McAfee
"But when it comes to sports, it's like the physical body is the one competing," McAfee went on to add.
He explained that he believed that while it was important that everybody is given a chance to compete and be themselves, "we need some fairness."
"There's no reason that we should be seeing a potential male physical body punching a woman," McAfee added.
McAfee's comments drew a wide variety of responses from viewers on X.
Most read in American Football
Those included San Francisco 49ers long snapper, Taybor Pepper.
"'I haven't done enough research,' Then stop talking before you broadcast 5 minutes of nonsense to a worldwide audience," he tweeted.
Female Olympic boxer WALKS OUT of fight in tears after just 46 seconds against rival who previously failed gender test
In total, the bout lasted just 46 seconds, with Carini bowing out due to pain.
"It could be the match of my life but, in that moment, I had to safeguard my life, too," Carini told reporters.
"I felt to do this, I didn't have any fear, I don't have any fear of the ring or to get hit."
Carini also added that she was "used to suffering," but that she had "never taken a punch like that, it's impossible to continue. I'm nobody to say it's illegal.
"I got into the ring to fight. But I didn't feel like it anymore after the first minute. I started to feel a strong pain in my nose.
"I didn't give up, but a punch hurt too much and so I said enough. I'm leaving with my head held high."
And despite refusing to shake hands with Khelif, Carini didn't appear to hold any sort of grudge.
How to watch the Olympics in the US
All recommendations within this article are informed by expert editorial opinion. If you click on a link in this story we may earn affiliate revenue.
While you may feel very far from the 2024 Paris Olympics, you can stay up-to-date with all of the action right from the comfort of your sofa.
You can watch on:
Or if you're not able to watch, you can follow along with The Sun's live blog for the latest updates from France.
"I wish her to carry on until the end and that she can be happy," she said.
Khelif has yet to comment on the ongoing rows, although she did share a photo from the bout on Instagram along with the caption, "First victory."
The International Olympic Committee responded to the controversy in a strongly worded statement on Thursday, in which they also questioned the IBA's testing.
"All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition's eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU)," they said.
It went on to address the "misleading information" being reported "about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
"The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women's category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.
"These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA.
"Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process."
Read More on The US Sun
Later, they summarized that the row regarding the athletes "is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years."
Khelif will return to the ring on Saturday to take on Hungary's Lucy Ann Hamori in the quarterfinal.
4