NASCAR Spotter Under Fire For Tweet About Olympic Boxing Controversy: “Biological Male Beat A Biological Female”

Aaron Ryan·
CULTURESPORTS
·
Olympic boxing
Abaca Press/Alamy Live News

We’ve got some major controversy brewing around the Olympics.

The controversy has actually been brewing for a while, after the Olympics decided to allow Algerian boxer Imane Khelif to compete in Paris, despite questions over Khelif’s biological gender.

Back in 2023, Khelif was disqualified from the International Boxing Association’s world championships after failing a gender identity test, reportedly having elevated levels of testosterone and being found to have an XY chromosome found in biological males. (In case you don’t remember your high school biology classes, males have XY chromosomes while females have XX chromosomes).

But the International Olympic Committee allowed Khelif to compete after stripping the IBA of their status as the governing body for boxing after a series of judging scandals. And the IOC claims that Khelif meets their criteria to compete as a woman:

“I would just say that everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports.”

Khelif has reportedly never identified as male, transgender, or intersex (which apparently means that a person has the biological characteristics of both males and females), and has always competed as a female. But the boxer’s appearance at the Olympics has been controversial, with many claiming that Khelif has a biological advantage over the other women in the competition..

And it sure looked it when Khelif matched up against boxer Angela Carini of Italy in the first round match.

Khelif landed a few strong punches, dislodging Carini’s headgear and possibly breaking her nose, before the Italian boxer raised her hands and abandoned the fight. And after the match, she refused to shake Khelif’s hand, calling the situation “unjust.”

“I felt a severe pain in my nose, and with the maturity of a boxer, I said ‘enough,’ because I didn’t want to, I didn’t want to, I couldn’t finish the match.”

Meanwhile, the IBA released a statement after the match regarding Khelif failed gender testing:

“Point to note, the athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential. This test conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.”

Khelif initially appealed the ruling before dropping the appeal, leaving the IBA ruling in place.

The controversy surrounding Khelif’s participation in the Olympics has taken over social media today, with many expressing sympathy and outrage for Carini after being forced to compete at an obvious physical disadvantage:

The internet is even comparing it to a South Park episode where a man identifies as male in order to enter a local boxing contest:

Of course, despite the questions surrounding Khelif’s biological sex, the fact that the boxer was allowed to participate despite being previously banned has also reignited the debate over transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. And one of those to chime in was outspoken NASCAR spotter Brett Griffin.

The veteran of the sport has spotted for drivers like Elliott Sadler and Clint Bowyer over the years, and stepped away from full-time spotting last year while still occasionally hopping on the roof for Richard Childress Racing this season.

He’s also known for not holding back when it comes to giving his opinion, and is a host of the popular NASCAR podcast Door Bumper Clear.

Well this morning, Griffin spoke out on the Olympic boxing controversy in his typical, straightforward manner:

“A biological male beat a biological female in WOMEN’s boxing.

How can anyone support this happening? By the time my kids are my age women’s sports will be overrun with men.”

Naturally, many of his followers and those in the NASCAR community agreed with him (even if there are still some arguments about Khelif’s gender). But there were also quite a few people who were pissed at his comments, calling Griffin an “embarrassment to NASCAR” and “transphobic.”

Of course this isn’t the first time people have gotten upset over Griffin’s tweets or comments, and I have a feeling it won’t be the last, because he doesn’t really seem to care what people think anyway.

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