Neither Khelif nor Lin identify as transgender or as having been born with a male body. According to a
fact check from GLAAD, there is no indication Khelif has ever identified as transgender or as intersex.
Nor is there any evidence to support the online speculation that Khelif has experienced
differences in sex development (DSD), a group of rare conditions that can cause women to have XY chromosomes and blood testosterone levels in the male range.
The allegations against Khelif were frequently framed as a call to protect the integrity of women's sports and, by extension, the women themselves.
But that's an inauthentic argument according to Michele Donnelly, an associate professor of sport management and a gender issues researcher at Brock University. She sees it as an excuse to push a transphobic agenda.
"It's so obviously not about women's sport at all. It's about really forwarding a trans-exclusionary, transphobic agenda," she said.
"If people were truly interested in fairness and women's sport, they would be advocating for more media coverage, for more resources invested in women's sport, more opportunities."