Riley Gaines Sparks Outrage with Controversial Remarks on Imane Khelif’s Nomination, Claims “They Want to Punish Women” and Compares to Sydney McLaughlin

Riley Gaines reacts to Imane Khelif’s nomination and compares her achievements to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone [Image Source : Getty]

Riley Gaines reacted to Imane Khelif’s nomination as ‘Female Athlete of the Year’ by the Associated Press. Though the Algerian boxer lost out on the award, her nomination continues to create controversy.

In a recent conversation with Fox News, Gaines commented on the issue, and why Khelif didn’t deserve to be nominated. She shared the conversation on her X [formerly Twitter] handle with the caption,

“Yes, I said “micropenis” on Fox News this morning. And no, women don’t have them.”

In the interview with Fox News, Gaines explained,

“So what the Associated Press has done here, they nominated an award, this is the message I received. They nominated an award to [Imane] Khelif, because he’s a male.”

Gaines also took the reference of Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to prove why Khelif was not the right choice for the nomination. In her words,

“His achievements are comparable to other athletes who weren’t nominated even once, like Sydney McLaughlin [Levrone] , who broke her own world record at the Games for the fifth time after a long injury break that kept her off track. And so the message I got was that he [Khelif] was nominated because he was male and they want to punish women.”

Riley Gaines had earlier campaigned against Imane Khelif’s participation at the Paris Olympics. She also supported the Italian boxer Angela Carini, who had to forfeit her bout against the Algerian boxer.

Riley Gaines on Imane Khelif’s denouncement of her critics

Riley Gaines on Imane Khelif’s denouncement of her critics [Image Source : Getty]

Riley Gaines had previously reacted to Imane Khelif’s reaction to the persistent criticism post the Paris Olympics. A few days ago, when Khelif had announced that she would denounce everyone who dared to call her a ‘man’, indicating possible legal action, Gaines took a dig at the boxer as she commented,

“His medical record literally shows he just has a micropenis but okay lol.”

Though she was nominated by Associated Press for the ‘Female Athlete of the Year’ Award, the Algerian boxer lost out to WNBA player Caitlin Clark, who won the award with a total of 35 votes, while gymnastics’ sensation Simone Biles stood second with 25 votes.

Gaines reacted to the situation by posting on her X handle. She wrote:

“The absurd part is @AP knows he is a man (just as anyone with eyes does), but they just don’t care. His medical records showing his chromosomes & anatomy are public. 4 dunces just genuinely believe a man makes the best woman. Why have a woman’s award if a man can win it?”

Riley Gaines has been actively campaigning for the exclusion of trans athletes from women’s sports. She first came into limelight when she campaigned against the bias shown by NCAA to the transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the NCAA Championships in 2022.