In the wake of a controversial incident at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Kaitlynn Wheeler, a former NCAA athlete and women's rights advocate, has voiced concerns about the future of women's sports in the United States.
Wheeler, who is also an ambassador at the Riley Gaines Center, has suggested that a Kamala Harris presidency could potentially lead to the end of female competitive sports.
As reported by Newsweek, Wheeler's comments were made in response to the recent controversy surrounding Italian female boxer Angela Carini's decision to abandon her fight after just 46 seconds. Carini's opponent, Imane Khelif, had previously failed a gender eligibility test.
Wheeler told Fox News, "This is the exact same thing you see happening in our own country. Take a long, good look. This is what the Biden-Harris administration sees as the future." She further added, "A vote for Kamala Harris is a vote for this exact thing. It's a vote for the erasure of women in women's sports."
The incident has sparked widespread debate, with Carini reportedly falling to her knees in the middle of the ring and stating, "This isn't fair," according to the BBC. Khelif, along with Lin Yu?ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), had previously been banned from competing in the 2023 women's World Championships by the International Amateur Boxing Association (IBA). IBA president Umar Kremlev had stated that their DNA tests had "proved they had XY chromosomes (the male chromosomes) and were thus excluded."
The issue of gender eligibility in sports has become a contentious topic in the U.S., particularly in the context of the Biden-Harris administration's stance on transgender rights. During a 2023 Pride event, Harris criticized Republicans for state laws that impact transgender health care and restrict sports participation and bathroom use, labeling these lawmakers as "extremists who are trying to do an abrupt, backward march."
Adding to the complexity of the issue, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Biden-Harris nominee, has previously declined to define "woman" during her confirmation hearing when asked by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
Meanwhile, the National Institutes of Health maintains a policy that sex should be considered a biological variable in research studies due to differences between men and women, such as how they metabolize and react to drugs. The agency's guidelines specify that "Sex is a biological variable defined by characteristics encoded in DNA, such as reproductive organs and other physiological and functional characteristics."
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