Despite the controversy and maelstrom of criticism around her, Imane Khelif won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. But that hasn’t made much of a dent in the debate around her gender that continues to rage on unabated. After the likes of JK Rowling, Elon Musk, and even former President Donald Trump waded into the controversy, dragging her into the ongoing cultural wars, Joe Rogan has given his thoughts on the same.

Rogan, of course, has a great interest in the topic since he is quite literally a professional combat sports commentator. Unsurprisingly the Texas resident gave his opinion on the topic, and specifically one particular thing that has him questioning the IOC’s stance on Khelif.

Joe Rogan finds IOC not testing Imane Khelif again fishy

The main reason that Khelif finds herself in such hot water is a claim by the IBA, which has claimed that she was disqualified from its 2023 tournament allegedly due to tests that indicated she has XX chromosomes, as well as very high testosterone levels. The International Olympic Committee [IOC] has taken issue with this and said that IBA tests are ‘flawed’.

But Joe Rogan isn’t convinced by the IOC’s stance. The JRE podcast host wondered why the body was not testing Khelif again to, once and for all, either confirm or disprove the IBA’s findings.

“Right but they’re [IOC are] not saying why they’re not legitimate. This is what gives me pause, when they just keep saying it’s not legitimate, the ad hoc nature of the tests are not legitimate. You have to say when you’re talking about a scientific test, that’s repeatable, right. So if you can test for XY chromosome versus XX chromosome, do it, tell me what the results are if you can test for testosterone, do it, tell me what the results are. And if one says XY and the other one says high levels of testosterone that’s not a woman, okay, sports-wise,” Rogan said on his podcast.

Rogan is saying that as far as sports are concerned if Khelif indeed has XY chromosomes and has abnormally high testosterone levels, she should be barred from competing in the women’s category. All of this would have made most people would have made many crumble under the pressure. But not Khelif who seems to be made of sterner stuff, winning the gold despite everything.

Khelif speaks out against gender being questioned after winning gold

While the controversy around her refuses to die down, Khelif winning the gold at the Paris Olympics after years of dedication and hard work, did come as a solace for her. “For eight years, this has been my dream, and I’m now the Olympic champion and gold medalist. I want to thank all the Algerian people here in Paris, around the world and in Algeria,” she said after defeating Lin Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) with a dominant 5:0 decision.

A jubilant yet emotional Khelif reiterated that “I’m a woman like any other woman,” declaring once and for all that she indeed deserved to be on the podium in the women’s boxing Olympics. “I was born as a woman, I live as a woman, and I am qualified,” she added.

A few days before this historic victory, her father also provided more evidence about her gender, releasing her birth certificate and photos from her childhood, both of which show her to be female. Not to mention the fact that she grew up in one of the most conservative parts of Algeria where traditional gender norms hold sway.

Nevertheless, as Joe Rogan pointed out, many will be skeptical until tests are done to decide the matter one way or the other. Do you agree with Rogan?