Laura Woods made clear her stance on social media and came in for backlash as a result
Laura Woods has shared her fears of facing backlash when she voiced her opinion on the gender controversy that overshadowed the 2024 Olympic Games. The issue centred around Algerian boxer Imane Khelif’s participation and subsequent gold medal win in the women’s welterweight boxing division at the Paris Olympics.
Khelif, along with China’s Lin Yu-ting, had been disqualified from the World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) a year earlier. The IBA, a discredited world governing body backed by Russia, claimed that blood test results proved Khelif was ineligible to compete against females.
However, they failed to provide any documented evidence to support their claims. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) deemed the tests not credible and cleared both athletes to compete at the Games.
Amidst the controversy, Woods, a presenter for TNT Sports, publicly praised a Telegraph article on social media. The piece argued that the IOC’s decision to allow Khelif – who has previously been wrongly labelled as transgender – and Lin to compete put biological women at risk.
Over a year after endorsing the article, Woods spoke to the newspaper, revealing her concerns that speaking out could have led to her being cancelled. Woods, 38, expressed her frustration, saying: “I remember just almost screaming internally, because I felt there was such an injustice going on in front of our eyes.
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“I was so angry that everyone who wanted to talk about it openly was gaslighted into thinking that what they were saying was wrong.
“It still annoys me now, because there was so much sympathy given to Khelif, and such a lack of it to the women around that athlete.
“It felt so disproportionate. I couldn’t believe that even questioning it out loud was worthy of cancellation.” Since defeating Yang Liu in last year’s final, Algerian boxer Khelif has vowed to compete at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
This is despite President Donald Trump’s promise to ban biological men from competing in women’s sports, and his false implication that Khelif was born male. The boxer responded to these claims earlier this year.
In an interview with ITV Sport, Khelif stated: “The US President issued a decision related to transgender policies in America. I am not transgender. This does not concern me, and it does not intimidate me. That is my response.”
She confessed that the scrutiny she faced last year had a significant impact on her mental and emotional wellbeing. “I was deeply affected mentally and felt discouraged, but I remained aware of what was happening,” she added.
“Even during the Paris Olympics, I had a team of specialist doctors who provided me with support and assistance. Without their support, I might have fallen into a spiral of depression.”
It was after Khelif’s second round victory over Italy’s Angela Carini that sparked mass backlash sent the Algerian’s way. She defeated the Italian in only 46 seconds, with Carini reportedly saying, “It’s not fair,” after receiving a punch from Khelif.
