Former CNN host Don Lemon has stepped forward in support of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who is embroiled in controversy over alleged failed gender eligibility tests at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

Khelif faced accusations of being a transgender woman during her participation in the Paris games following a purported failure of a drug test conducted by the International Boxing Association.

Khelif refutes the transgender claims, while the International Olympic Committee criticized the IBA, labeling Khelif’s and another athlete’s failed tests as a ‘sudden and arbitrary decision.’ The IBA, no longer the sport’s recognized governing body in the Olympics, faces scrutiny over longstanding allegations of corruption and poor management.

Speculation about Khelif intensified when Italian boxer Angela Carini, an opponent she encountered, withdrew from their match in tears after a brief encounter where Khelif dominated.

Speaking to Piers Morgan, Lemon asked a simple question of Carini: ‘Whose fault is that?

‘If you put yourself in the arena to be hit, and someone hits you hard, then whose fault is that?’ Lemon said on ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’.

‘I’m sure whoever was in that competition understood who they were going into the ring with. 

‘When stepping into the ring amidst flying punches, expect to be hit hard, regardless if your opponent is male or female. That’s my take on the situation.’

Carini has claimed she’s suffered online abuse after her defeat, publishing a social media video with multiple messages about her loss. 

A voiceover from the 26-year-old questions, ‘Have you ever considered how challenging it was to face such accusations? The resilience required to confront them day after day?’

‘What I had to face in my silence, while preserving my health from a stupid social network, from people who speak and say words without thinking twice?’ 

‘Because for them it’s just a sentence, it’s just a word, it’s just fun, it’s just wanting to follow the crowd.’

She continued: ‘For many it is easy to forget the past, but for me it wasn’t. That past that marked my life. That past that left wounds inside me that I try to heal day after day, but like an infected wound, it bleeds and hurts.

‘That past that changed and destroyed my career, built year after year with sacrifices, dedication, tenacity and a lot of passion…. That career that is underestimated and belittled by those who preferred to have a laugh for a few moments, preferred to throw the stone.’

The president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), Umar Kremlev, has previously demanded Khelif’s Olympic gold medal to be stripped to achieve ‘transparency and openness.’ The IOC has defended the results of the games.

Khelif had previously been disqualified from the IBA for failing a gender eligibility test, which has not been published and is believed to be the only test that she has failed. 

The test also came after Khelif defeated two Russian boxers at an event. The IBA has been accused of corruption and ties to the Russian government.

For years, the IOC and the IBA have been in conflict – with the IOC demanding greater transparency into the IBA’s funding and Russian ties. 

For the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the IOC stripped the IBA of the right to organize the boxing events for that summer’s games. Those events were organized by an ad hoc task force.

In June of 2023, over a year before the games, the IOC Executive Board permanently stripped the IBA of its ability to organize boxing at the Olympics. The IOC set up the ‘Paris Boxing Unit’ to run the event. 

For the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the events will be put on by World Boxing, the newly recognized international governing body for the sport.

World Boxing announced a new policy in August which introduces mandatory sex testing to ensure only biological females compete in the women’s category. 

That policy includes a stipulation which will keep athletes out of any competitions pending the results of genetic testing. Khelif has appealed this.