ITV Accused of Censoring Martina Navratilova for claiming boxer Imane Khelif was male

[Social Media]

 

ITV is under fire for allegedly censoring tennis legend Martina Navratilova and numerous other users after they commented on the biological sex of boxer Imane Khelif. The controversy erupted after World Boxing banned Khelif from participating in women’s boxing due to a leaked blood test revealing the athlete has XY chromosomes, typically associated with biological males.

 

 

The backlash began when ITV shared a story on its social media account X (formerly Twitter) reporting that naming Khelif had caused “immeasurable psychological damage,” a claim made by the Algerian Boxing Federation following World Boxing’s decision to name the athlete publicly. In response, Martina Navratilova, a nine-time Wimbledon singles champion and long-time LGBTQ+ rights advocate, posted: “But a male beating the crap out of women is not too bad, apparently.” ITV initially hid her comment from view, only reinstating it after users criticized the move.

 

 

While Navratilova's comment eventually returned to public view, dozens of other remarks remained hidden, many of which simply stated that Khelif is male. Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at the women’s rights organization Sex Matters, demanded accountability from ITV. “It’s shocking that the UK’s largest commercial broadcast network has censored hundreds of gender-critical comments on social media, many of them simply referring to Imane Khelif as male,” she said. “Hiding a simple truth about a major news story is a remarkable failure by a journalistic organisation.”

 

McAnena also expressed disbelief that a figure as prominent as Navratilova was targeted. “It’s scandalous that ITV hid a reply from tennis legend Martina Navratilova, which they reinstated after an outcry. But what of the hundreds of other replies that remain censored, some of which do nothing but quote JK Rowling about the boxing row?” she continued. “ITV cannot simply dismiss this as a social media storm. Unless ITV’s leadership apologises for hiding factual comments from the public, it will damage its credibility as a respected news organisation.”

 

The controversy traces back to last year’s Olympic Games, where Khelif won a gold medal in the women’s boxing event. The boxer had previously been disqualified from the 2023 World Championships after testing suggested the presence of male chromosomes. Most recently, World Boxing banned Khelif from competing in the Eindhoven World Cup unless a sex test was taken, which Khelif refused.

 

X allows users to hide replies they dislike, preventing them from appearing automatically on the platform. However, these comments are not deleted and can still be viewed by those who choose to dig into the hidden replies.

 

Among the many hidden responses were statements that strongly criticized Khelif’s participation in women’s sports. One user, Hatkeshiator, commented: “It’s hardly worse than pretending to be a chick so you can beat chicks up while they fear a ban if they complain. Get a grip.” Another, Kyle Reese, wrote: “I think the damage his mentally-ill man inflicted on women was far greater.” Florence Jeffries added: “He punches women. What about the harm, physical and mental, suffered by them? He knows tests have shown him to have XY chromosomes.”

 

The growing debate continues to draw attention to questions of fairness, transparency, and the role of media in reporting biological and gender-related facts in elite sports.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Telegraph  2025-06-10