DeSantis Spreads False Claims About Algerian Olympic Boxer Imane Khelif

Last week, after Italian boxer Angela Carini tapped out just 46 seconds into her Olympic boxing match against Imane Khelif of Algeria, a chorus of incensed celebrities and far-right figures joined forces on social media to spread false claims about Khelif.

J.K. Rowling, Logan Paul, and Elon Musk (among others) claimed that Khelif – an athlete who identifies as a woman and has long competed in her sport as a female athlete – is a man masquerading as a woman in order to gain a competitive edge.

“A man was allowed to beat up a woman on a global stage…this delusion must end,” Paul wrote in a since-deleted post.

Paul and others quickly admitted to spreading misinformation about Khelif (“OOPSIES,” Paul wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter). It remains to be seen whether we’ll see the same acknowledgment from others ahead of Khelif’s semifinal bout on Tuesday afternoon.

Take, for instance, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his team, who scarcely miss an opportunity to seize on culture war and gender issues to drum up political outrage.

As rumors spread across social media about Khelif, DeSantis, his wife, and members of his administration shared posts echoing similar rhetoric.

“Unconscionable…Florida stands as a refuge of sanity against this nonsense,” Casey DeSantis wrote in an X post.

Unconscionable…

Florida stands as a refuge of sanity against this nonsense. https://t.co/ZPRUqdBBeF

— Casey DeSantis (@CaseyDeSantis) August 1, 2024

“Biden-Harris elevate the ‘right’ of a male athlete to compete against women over the rights of women athletes to compete with fairness and integrity,” wrote the governor himself. 

Of course she supports it. Biden-Harris admin is even trying to strip $$ for school lunches for poor kids from schools who don’t embrace gender ideology.

Biden-Harris elevate the “right” of a male athlete to compete against women over the rights of women athletes to compete… https://t.co/AWphW3b5kL

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 1, 2024

DeSantis spokesmen Bryan Griffin and Jeremy Redfern reshared a tweet from the conservative outlet Florida’s Voice that read, “FLASHBACK: Amidst a male athlete defeating a female at the Olympics, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office is reminding people that Florida already equalized sports via the 2021 Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.”

The controversy surrounding Khelif’s participation arose after the Russian-dominated boxing regulator International Boxing Association (IBA) – which was stripped of its Olympic tournament-hosting authority in 2019 – claimed that a sex chromosome test disqualified her from the 2023 Women’s World Championships.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has since criticized the IBA and called its disqualification decision arbitrary.

On August 2, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in a statement that he supports Khelif’s participation in the Olympic Games, adding that she was “born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport.”

Though much of the backlash against Khelif has arisen from those believing she is transgender (i.e., a person who transitions from their sex assigned at birth to another gender), she is not trans.

“This is not a transgender case,” Adams flatly stated.

Khelif defeated Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary on Saturday, clinching at least a bronze medal. She will face off against Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in the women’s welterweight division semifinal on Tuesday at 4:34 p.m.

As of Tuesday, all posts about Khelif from DeSantis and his team remain on social media.

A spokesperson for DeSantis did not immediately respond to New Times‘ requests for comment.