Transgender Athletes in Women’s Sports: The Imane Khelif Case
A central focus of Rogan’s critique was the controversy surrounding Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif, who failed a gender eligibility test by the International Boxing Association (IBA). According to leaked medical reports, Khelif possesses X-Y chromosomes and internal testes, a condition linked to 5-alpha reductase deficiency. Despite this, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) cleared her to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, requiring only a female gender marker on her passport.
“X-Y chromosome – case closed. You forget it. What are your chromosomes? X-Y? Ma’am, you got to be in the X-Y box. Go over there.”
Discussing the case with Derek from More Plates More Dates, Rogan was unambiguous.
Derek explained how conditions like Khelif’s allow for male-typical muscle development and bone density despite a lack of full masculinization.
“It’s almost like the equivalent of putting a kid at birth on a mega-dose of finasteride or dutasteride and wiping out their DHT,”
he said, referencing hormones critical to male development. Both agreed that chromosomal testing offers the most objective solution to ensure fairness in women’s sports.
The Dangers of Self-Identification Policies
Rogan expressed incredulity over U.S. passport policies that allow individuals to change their gender marker without medical documentation. On episode #2239, he read from the application guidelines:
“No medical documentation. You do not need to provide medical documentation to change your gender marker.”
“So I could be a female. I could just say I’m a female, show up with a full beard.”
He highlighted that the chosen gender marker “doesn’t need to match your citizenship evidence or photo ID.”
Rogan argued that while most transgender individuals are not a threat, such policies could be exploited by bad actors:
“They used to be psychos…Dress up like his mom. Silence of the Lambs. It puts the lotion in the basket.”
He further lamented the societal shift that, in his view, ignores potential dangers:
“Somewhere we just decided that [p*rverts] don’t exist anymore. And so there’s no [p*rverts].”
“If you wanted to make someone in a movie scarier, you put him in a dress,”
he said, referencing Hollywood’s history of portraying villains in dresses—like Silence of the Lambs or Psycho.
Women’s Safety: Are Protections Being Eroded?
“I thought that the left was all about protecting women,”
Rogan said. “Like this is the whole thing about progressives—protect people that are not as safe.”
Highlighting physical disparities between men and women, Rogan pointed out the everyday threats women face:
“I don’t generally worry about women raping me. Never, never in my life…But women walk through life worrying about getting roofied or getting r*ped or getting dragged into an alleyway.”
“Just don’t try to compete against women in sports,”
Rogan asserted. “It’s not fair.”
Balancing Freedom and Safeguards
“Wear a dress, man. If that’s what you like, I don’t care. You want to paint your nails, want to have lipstick on, I don’t give a f—. Have a good time. I want you to be happy. I’ll be your friend. Just don’t try to compete against women in sports.”
The conversation also touched on how society’s attempt to be compassionate has led to what Rogan views as an oversimplification of complex issues.
“When you’re comparing trans this and trans that, there’s not a guy I’ve ever talked to in my life…that is even remotely concerned with a trans man going into the men’s room,”
he noted.
