Sprinter Weighs in on ‘Intersex Athlete’ Controversy—And Promptly Deletes ‘Disgusting’ Tweet

Yesterday, British runner Lynsey Sharp seemed to hint at injustice at the 2016 Olympic Games.

This injustice? Female athletes being forced to compete against so-called “intersex athletes,” meaning women who don’t fit traditional binary gender roles.

These women sometimes have much higher testosterone levels than average females — something referred to as hyperandrogegism.

One such athlete is South African Caster Semenya, who ended up winning the race that Lynsey Sharp finished sixth in.

Image Credit: Eric Feferberg/Getty Images

Now, another British runner has inserted himself into the controversy, agreeing with that sentiment.

Sprinter Nigel Levine issued a tweet that praised Sharp for finishing “third” in the women’s 800 meters race, when, as stated above, she actually finished sixth.

intersex athletes – Image Credit: Glyn Kirk/Getty Images

The inference was that three of the competitors, including Semenya, were not “real women” and, therefore, not real competitors.

Here is the text of the actual tweet, which has been deleted but was caught by Independent UK:

“Happy for Lynsey Sharp for coming 3rd in women’s 800m.”

Before the tweet was deleted, some of his fans got to see it.

They weren’t happy. Some called him out for the notion that all three medal winners in an Olympic event don’t deserve their accolades.

South African politician Geordin Hill-Lewis even called the tweet “disgusting.”

Levine took to Twitter to let folks know that his original tweet wasn’t intended to offend anyone.

He gave an apology, of sorts:

I wasn’t intended to offend anyone for my sarcastic tweet.
What’s done is done and I can accept that.

— Nigel Levine (@NigelLevine) August 23, 2016

 

“I wasn’t intended to offend anyone for my sarcastic tweet.

What’s done is done and I can accept that.”

However, folks on Twitter weren’t going to let him off so easy.

Many expressed their dissatisfaction with his apology.

@NigelLevine Sarcastic? You dehumanised 3 black women and you call it “sarcasm”

— Xasan (@poobIocks) August 23, 2016

 

@poobIocks @NigelLevine I agree, apologise to the 3 women who was the butt of you sarcasm! Imagine on a world stage how they were feeling

— Platothetruthseeker (@Platothetruths2) August 23, 2016

 

@NigelLevine I should hope if anyone ever refers to your mother as a man to discredit her achievements you will see the sarcastic side ya ????

— Vela Supernova (@VelaSuperNova) August 23, 2016

 

Until recently, the International Association of Athletics Federations attempted to regulate intersex athletes by requiring that women with high testosterone levels take hormone suppressing drugs for intersex athletes.

Courts struck down that ruling, however.

The post Sprinter Weighs in on ‘Intersex Athlete’ Controversy—And Promptly Deletes ‘Disgusting’ Tweet appeared first on Independent Journal Review.
Source: independent journal

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