Women's sports activists react after boxer Imane Khelif makes confession about biological sex

'Gaines for Girls' podcast host Riley Gaines discusses the gender controversy surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and mandatory sex testing at the World Boxing Championships.

Boxer Imane Khelif admitted to having the SRY gene, located on the Y chromosome, which is found in biological males, and undergoing hormone treatments to lower testosterone levels ahead of the 2024 Olympics in an interview with the French sports publication L'Equipe. 

Khelif has denied being transgender. 

"We all have different genetics, different hormone levels. I'm not transgender. My difference is natural. This is who I am. I haven't done anything to change the way nature made me. That's why I'm not afraid," Khelif said. 

"I have taken hormone treatments to lower my testosterone levels for competitions."

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Imane Khelif, right, from Algeria and Luca Anna Hamori from Hungary during a boxing match. (Sina Schuldt/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Khelif committed to also taking a genetic sex test to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which will likely be required.

"For the next Games, if I have to take a test, I will. I have no problem with that," Khelif said. 

The Independent Council on Women's Sports (ICONS) released a statement addressing Khelif's admission. 

"Algerian Olympic women’s gold medalist Imane Khelif has now confirmed he is male. With men no longer eligible for Olympic women’s boxing under World Boxing rules, Khelif reportedly plans to box professionally in Europe, though he inexplicably says he will still undergo sex screening for the LA 2028 Games in hopes of competing," the statement said.

USOPC LEADERS ADDRESS PROTECTION OF WOMEN'S SPORTS, USE OF SEX TESTS AMID GLOBAL