Caster Semenya claims the IAAF broke rules by releasing information on expert witnesses. GETTY IMAGES
A row between Caster Semenya and the IAAF erupted on Monday as her lawyers "claimed confidentiality rules had been breached for her behind-closed-doors fight" to compete internationally without medical intervention, according to Tom Morgan of the London TELEGRAPH. Semenya, who appeared at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland on Monday, said that the IAAF broke rules by "releasing a detailed list of five experts due to give evidence at the five-day hearing." The landmark case surrounding athletes with "differences of sexual development" (DSD) is hearing this week how the IAAF "wants athletes like Semenya, who was born with internal testes, to have their testosterone reduced to female levels" before they compete internationally to ensure fairness with other women. The two-time Olympic 800m champion "ignored questions as she arrived at the court on Monday, but instead flashed her fingers in a peace sign and smiled" (TELEGRAPH, 2/18).
'AN ACT OF DISCRIMINATION': INSIDE THE GAMES' James Diamond reported Cricket South Africa and the country’s national women’s football team both pledged their support for Semenya. In October, three human rights experts from the United Nations wrote an open letter to the IAAF calling the body's proposal "unjustifiable," while Human Rights Watch labeled it discriminatory. On Friday, South Africa Sports Minister Tokozile Xasa "echoed HRW’s stance." Both CSA and the South African women’s football team have since "weighed in on the issue." CSA CEO Thabang Moroe said, "We stand here as the cricket fraternity joining all the voices throughout the world, to denounce the IAAF Gender Regulations as an act of discrimination against women in sport." Women’s football coach Desiree Ellis "called Semenya an inspiration for her side." Ellis: "Caster has been very brave and strong. Through all the challenges she’s faced, she’s come out on top. So, her strength inspires us" (INSIDE THE GAMES, 2/17).
'MURKY WATERS': In London, Sean Ingle wrote it is "just one case, brought by just one athlete," against a single organization. But Semenya’s challenge to the IAAF’s testosterone rules for female athletes "may yet be as far-reaching and profound as the Bosman ruling." It is not only that the court holds Semenya's career "in its hands." That, alone, is a "weighty enough responsibility." But CAS also knows that its ruling, which will be announced next month, "will be pored over" by other organizations trying to "wade through the murky waters where gender, biology and identity converge." Those looking for science to "provide an easy resolution to the case are likely to be disappointed too." Semenya’s legal team argues that her advantages "are no different from other genetic variations celebrated in sport" -- and that "her genetic gift should be celebrated not discriminated against" (GUARDIAN, 2/18).
