Imane Khelif and the biggest controversies in sports in 2024

As 2024 comes to an end, there are lots of moments in the world of sports to reflect on after 365 days, and many of them are great. 

However, controversy was also seen throughout the days and months. 

Let’s take a look at some of 2024’s biggest controversial moments in sports, starting in Paris at the Olympic Games. 

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IMANE KHELIF WINS GOLD MEDAL IN PARIS

The most-Googled athlete of the year was at the center of controversy at the Paris Olympics, as Algeria’s Imane Khelif became the gold medalist in her weight class for boxing, despite questions about gender eligibility. 

Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 International Boxing Association World Championships after IBA president Umar Kremlev said the boxer had “XY chromosomes,” which are associated with biological males. 

However, the IOC defended Khelif, as well as Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who also won gold in a different women’s weight class despite related outrage. 

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“These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA,” the IOC said. “Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process.”

Khelif went on to never lose a single round in Paris on her way to gold. One boxer, Angela Carini, even forfeited against Khelif in Paris, saying that “one punch hurt too much.”

CAITLIN CLARK ROUGHED UP DURING HISTORIC ROOKIE SEASON

Clark made WNBA history in her first season as part of the Indiana Fever, while headlining a rookie class that changed the landscape of women’s sports, let alone women’s basketball. 

But this rookie season to remember didn’t come without its own controversy, especially when she was playing. 

Clark was a part of national headlines after the Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter checked her down on the court early in the season, which was deemed a Flagrant-1 foul. 

It wasn’t a necessary physical play, hence the foul call, but it became much more than that as talk shows and media outlets began discussing whether players are being too harsh on Clark, who had taken a beating on the court with some hard fouls prior to that as well. Race was also brought up as part of the discussions. 

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) rushes up the court Friday, July 12, 2024, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Clark would endure more moments of physicality, including from fellow rookie Angel Reese, who whacked her in the head during a layup attempt. However, both Reese and Clark agreed it had just been a basketball play that didn’t work out at that moment. 

BROOKE FLEMING AND SJSU WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

In a year when transgender athletes in women’s sports became such a controversial topic, one such situation made national headlines as San Jose State’s women’s volleyball program was mired in controversy due to trans athlete Brooke Fleming on the court. 

The Spartans’ record reflected forfeits from multiple opponents this season, and though it wasn’t directly specified, all signs pointed to the refusal to play against Fleming. 

There has even been controversy within her own team, as captain Brooke Slusser is part of two lawsuits alleging the university and Fleming actively sought to prevent her and other players on the team from knowing that Fleming is a biological male. 

Slusser also joined a lawsuit against the NCAA over the governing body’s policies on gender ideology that allows transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. 

Despite controversy from within and the outside, San Jose State continued to play against opponents that would face them on the court until the Mountain West tournament came around where they earned a bye for being the No. 2 seed. 

Boise State, who forfeited to SJSU earlier in the season, beat Utah State in the quarterfinals to set a date for a semifinal matchup with the Spartans. However, they decided to forfeit yet again, giving SJSU a spot at the conference championship trophy despite never playing a set.

Colorado State, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, went on to defeat SJSU, 3-1, to win the title and make the NCAA Tournament. 

Blaire Fleming, #3 of the San Jose State Spartans, looks on during the third set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

JORDAN CHILES’ BRONZE MEDAL

It was quite the summer for Team USA’s women’s gymnastics team, especially with Simone Biles becoming the most decorated United States gymnast of all time. 

However, her teammate in Chiles faced quite the controversy when she was awarded the bronze medal in the individual floor exercise. 

American coaches had asked judges to review a score from her routine that eventually reflected in her final score, beating out Romania’s Ana Barbosu, who came in fourth place instead of winning the medal. 

But things changed when the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Chiles’ appeal had come past the one-minute deadline, thus dropping her score back to its original tally, and Barbosu was given the bronze medal. Thus, Chiles was ordered to give it back.

It was certainly emotional for Chiles, the 23-year-old who claimed that she was facing “racially driven attacks” from social media users in a lengthy statement on the matter posted to X on Aug. 15. 

An appeal of the IOC’s decision continues and Biles even said she would be joining the effort to re-assert Chiles as the bronze medal winner.

NICK BOSA’S MAGA HAT

In the heat of the presidential election, sports was also impacted with some controversy after one NFL player decided to show his clear allegiance to one of the candidates. 

Bosa, the San Francisco 49ers star defensive end, decided to crash his quarterback, Brock Purdy’s, postgame interview on “Sunday Night Football” wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. 

The NFL rulebook prohibits any sort of political messaging, and Bosa was later fined $11,255 by the league for doing so. 

But Bosa said that wearing the hat, despite the controversy it caused on talk shows and articles printed across the country, had been “well worth it” after Donald Trump became President-elect. 

“I don’t think my position on speaking about it is going to change, so clearly the nation spoke. We got what we got,” Bosa said at the time. 

ATHLETES DO THE “TRUMP DANCE”

Speaking of Trump, players in both college and professional football were celebrating touchdowns and clutch plays by mimicking the President-elect’s dance moves, which were seen during his rallies across the campaign trail. 

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (97) celebrates after sacking Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield during the second half of an NFL football game in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024.  (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

While this wasn’t as blatant an endorsement as Bosa’s MAGA hat, the dance was something that sent social media into a frenzy, whether people were fans of the moves or not. 

NFL players Brock Bowers, Calvin Ridley, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Za’Darius Smith and Malcolm Rodriguez were all seen doing it. Bowers explained why he had done the move after the game.

Bowers explained that watching UFC star Jon “Bones” Jones do it during his victory at Madison Square Garden in November, with Trump sitting right in the front row, had been his inspiration. 

“I like watching UFC, so I saw it and thought it was cool,” Bowers said. 

The NFL said it had no issue with the dance moves of players despite the controversy. 

FALCONS DRAFT MICHAEL PENIX JR.

Would a recap of controversies come without the shock of the NFL Draft? 

When the Falcons selected eighth overall back in April, they surprised the entire football world when Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., a top quarterback prospect, was called by commissioner Roger Goodell. 

The Falcons had just signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed, giving them a franchise quarterback in free agency as they went into the draft. Nobody was expecting a quarterback to be taken by the Falcons, especially with that high of a draft pick. 

The Falcons eventually had to explain their draft pick, while Cousins was hit with questions about the awkward situation, even though he hadn’t played a single snap for Atlanta yet. 

Now, while it seemed like a crazy pick back then, Penix is finishing out the season as the Falcons’ starter with Cousins’ future in the organization seemingly at a crossroads after a mediocre first campaign in Atlanta. 

Atlanta Falcons first-round draft choice quarterback Michael Penix Jr., holds a Falcons jersey during a news conference Friday, April 26, 2024, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

BILL BELICHICK DOESN’T LAND NEXT NFL GIG

It almost didn’t feel real when the New England Patriots and Belichick mutually parted ways, ending a 24-year run with an organization that had won six Super Bowls with him in place as head coach. 

But being back on the market looking for a new gig, everyone in the football space believed that Belichick would find a new home with many head coaching vacancies open. Well, he didn’t. 

The closest Belichick came was the Falcons, who eventually chose to go with Raheem Morris despite meeting with the coaching legend several times during their hiring process. The Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders all went with someone else to lead their locker rooms, while Belichick moved into the sports media realm. 

Perhaps even more wild is Belichick becoming North Carolina’s new head football coach, as he will begin a whole new journey in college for the first time in his career. 

“RAYGUN” MAKES OLYMPIC HEADLINES FOR ALL WRONG REASONS

A new addition to the Paris Olympics this year was Breaking, and one competitor from Australia became a household name, though it wasn’t due to a brilliant performance. 

Rachel Gunn, who went by the stage name “Raygun” in the Olympics, went viral after failing to get a single point in her performance. Some even believed that Gunn, a university lecturer at Macquarie University, was mocking the competition with her dancing, though she said she had been trying to be as creative as possible. 

Gunn qualified for the Paris Olympics after winning the QMS Oceania Championships in Sydney and was named the top-ranked b-girl by the Australian Breaking Association in 2020 and 2021. 

B-Girl Raygun of Team Australia looks on before competing in the B-Girls Round Robin during Day 14 of Breaking – Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Place de la Concorde on August 9, 2024, in Paris, France.  (Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

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But when she got to the Olympics, Gunn admitted she was overmatched. 

“As soon as I qualified, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what have I done?’ because I knew that I was going to get beaten, and I knew people weren’t going to understand my style and what I was going to do,” she said.

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