A local former athlete, left paralyzed after being hit in a volleyball game by a trans athlete, is weighing in on the controversy currently surrounding the Olympic women’s boxing competition.
Former North Carolina athlete and advocate against trans athletes being included in women’s sports Peyton McNabb joined the Tara Show Friday morning to discuss the controversy surrounding Algerian Olympic women’s boxing contender Imane Khelif.
McNabb recounted her thoughts watching Khelif’s Italian opponent, Angela Carini, fold only 46 seconds into their bout.
"It was absolutely heartbreaking," McNabb said. "Seeing those pictures of her on her knees crying breaks my heart in half because she has worked her whole life for this moment, and then she had to give up 46 seconds later because they put her in a ring with a man who punched her too hard."
While initial backlash claimed Khelif was trans, Khelif was quickly found to be intersex, being assigned female at birth but having XY chromosomes.
The controversy now surrounds Khelif’s having XY chromosomes and her unspecified eligibility failing of last year’s International Boxing Association women’s competition. The IBA has since been banned by the IOC for its long history of scandals and controversies.
Proponents point to Khelif’s female assignment at birth and their having participated in female athletics their entire life.
