Boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria clinched a medal (with a guaranteed Bronze) at the Paris Olympics in an emotional fight Saturday that followed days of scrutiny and online abuse as misconceptions about her gender exploded into heated discussions on everything from physical abuse allegations to transgender athletes to physical advantages in sports. Have you been following this story?

Khelif qualified for the quarterfinals of the Olympic women's boxing tournament by dismantling Italy's Angela Carini in the round of 16. Their bout lasted 46 seconds, several of which included Carini refusing to fight claiming she feared for her life. Within minutes, allegations of cheating rippled through the internet. Bestselling author J.K. Rowling weighed in and piled on, as did Jake and Logan Paul, Hall of Fame boxer Oscar De La Hoya, and retired football star Dez Bryant. They all accuse Khelif, who was born, raised, and has only ever lived as a woman, of some form of gender deception. Was she intersex? Transgender? A straight-up man masquerading as a woman? None of them really knew Khelif, but they all seemed so sure. Mainstream news organizations added their own stories questioning Khelif's gender credentials, relying on one test taken in 2023, along with Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan, when both had failed a gender test at the 2023 IBA World Championships. They saw a cheater, a quasi man using his unfair physical advantages to batter women. No IBA documents clarify exactly how these two women, who had competed issue-free in the past, landed outside the organization's gender boundaries. Minutes from the board of directors meeting following the 2023 world championships repeatedly cite unspecified tests at an unnamed lab, and that the two boxers "failed to meet eligibility rules." Eventually IBA president Umar Kremlev told a reporter that Khelif and Yu-Ting, who is also competing in Paris, had an X and Y chromosome, which made them, in IBA's view, something besides women. Khelif has hyperandrogenism (DSD), a medical condition characterized by high levels of androgens. Having DSD is not the same as being transgender. Differences in sex development (DSD) is a set of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs that can cause the sexual development of a person to be different than others. Sometimes, this can lead to a person having XY chromosomes but develop otherwise female. She was born female, grew up with severe obstacles thrown her way and poured everything she has into becoming the boxer she is today. Did you know this?

So, as soon as this info came to light, so did claims that Khelif with her chromosomal abnormality was at an "unfair advantage" in this contest. Unfair advantage? A woman in boxing? Did anyone say that 28 Olympic medal winner Michael Phelps, with his double jointed elbows and knees, hyperextended thorax and 50% less lactic acid production than the average competitor (which gives him extra energy) had an unfair biological advantage and should not be allowed to compete? Or that French Olympic basketball player Victor Wembanyama, at 7 feet 4 inches has an unfair advantage and should not compete? Do you agree that the "unfair advantage" argument is full of holes?

Women boxers are not built like gymnasts or swimmers. Of course this opens up a whole new controversy, which is of course, gender identity. What we see now is that some want to own the definition of who is a woman, and how can somebody being born, raised, competed and having a passport as a woman cannot be considered a woman. So, the same people who are condemning transgender women using the bathrooms that align with their gender identity are the same people telling the world that Khelif, a NATURAL BORN WOMAN, looks too much like a man to be fighting in women's boxing events. The same people that would freak out and fear for their safety if Khelif, a NATURAL BORN WOMAN, would use the ladies' bathroom in their store. Maybe the world would be a better place if everyone would just mind their own business and let people go to the bathroom, or shop at their stores, or live their lives. Do you see the point I'm trying to make here?

The Italian boxer, Carini apologized Friday for her treatment of Khelif. "I'm sorry for my opponent. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision." "It wasn't something I intended to do," Carini said. "Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke," she said. The fight has, however, become a flashpoint for an often misinformed debate about how women are allowed to compete in sports. I'm glad Carini apologized (it was the right thing for her to do), but feel everyone who posted the accusations online should also apologize, now that the truth has come out. Do you agree?