After Pat McAfee amplified a controversy around Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and a questionable test by the International Boxing Test to determine whether she could compete in women’s boxing, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky appeared to oppose Khelif in separate social media posts on Thursday.
While international sports agencies and reporters in Paris worked to clarify the details around Khelif’s clearance to participate at the Olympics, McAfee incorrectly labeled Khelif as transgender and went on a lengthy rent defending losing boxer Angela Carini, calling the match “unfair” while acknowledging he had not done “enough research.”
Carini quit less than a minute after a punch to the nose from Khelif.
Later Thursday, Orlovsky posted on X, “Protect our daughters.”
The NFL Live panelist and ESPN game and studio analyst deleted the post less than an hour later.
Orlovsky’s ESPN NFL colleague Sam Ponder reposted a quote from Carini and added, “ENOUGH is what all of us should be saying!! Proud of this woman.”
The Sunday NFL Countdown anchor has a history of promoting “fairness” in women’s sports at the expense of transgender athletes.
ENOUGH is what all of us should be saying!! Proud of this woman 👏🏼💪🏼 https://t.co/C23l9Sn2js
— Samantha Steele Ponder (@samponder) August 1, 2024
Author J.K. Rowling ignited the controversy in a post early Thursday chastising the “misogynist sporting establishment.”
However, Khelif’s sex and gender only became talking points because she was disqualified from the world championships in 2023 because of a test from the International Boxing Association. The IBA, however, was removed from overseeing boxing at the Olympics in 2019. The International Olympic Committee defaults to the gender on an athlete’s passport.
Because Khelif is Algerian, certainly, her government would not approve a passport with a gender different than what was assigned at birth. It is illegal to be transgender in Algeria.
Orlovsky’s post took the same tune as McAfee’s monologue on The Pat McAfee Show, coming to the defense of Carini at the expense of Khelif. Just as McAfee failed to provide evidence for why the match was unfair and Rowling had no explanation for her issue with the match, Orlovsky did not detail what young women needed to be protected from exactly.
Ponder at least got closer to an actual point by hinting that Khelif should not be allowed to compete, but they didn’t go further.
While Orlovsky did delete his post, the debate around Khelif only intensified a debate that likely isn’t going anywhere.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.