“Keep men out of women’s sports” - LIV Golf’s Anthony Kim openly slams trans Paralympian, says she is ‘dad to two’

Italian athlete Valentina Petrillo had earlier become the first transgender to compete at the Paralympic Games. This week in Paris, France, the sprinter competed in the women’s T12 400m for visually impaired runners. She failed to reach the final after finishing third in the semifinals on Monday.

The 50-year-old’s participation in the women’s division received criticism from several individuals, including LIV Golf’s Anthony Kim. The golfer took to his social media handle to openly slam Petrillo. Kim held no punches back against the trans athlete as he said the “guy has a d***.” The harsh comment was followed by the former PGA Tour star saying Petrillo was “dad to two kids.”

The ranting golfer went on to attack the trans sprinter and said “mental illness is no joke” in the tweet. He called to “keep men out of women’s sports” while adding the hashtags “#gratitude” and “#mentalhealth.”

Anthony Kim retweeted a news report on LGBTQ+ campaigner Peter Tatchell defending Valentina Petrillo and wrote:

“Guy has a d*** and dad to two kids and wants to race women who have worked incredibly hard to compete but we all have to sit here & act like this s*** is normal. ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! #mentalillness is no joke. Keep men out of women’s sports. #girldad #gratitude #mentalhealth”

It is pertinent to note this isn’t the first time Anthony Kim has made anti-transgender coded comments on social media. The 39-year-old girldad had made a cryptic tweet about controversial boxer Imane Khelif during the Paris Summer Olympics.

The LIV star claimed it “infuriating that hitting a woman is okay” while suggesting that the athlete was a male. He received flak online for the comments.

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Trans Paralympian Valentina Petrillo receives flak from Anthony Kim, others

Valentina Petrillo had made headlines by becoming the first transgender to compete at the Paralympic Games. The 50-year-old ran a personal best of 57.58 seconds in the second semifinal on Monday but finished behind Iran’s Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani and Venezuela’s Alejandra Paola Perez Lopez.

An emotionally overwhelmed ­Valentina Petrillo said in France, on Monday, as quoted by The Guardian:

“I’m a little down, but I hope my son will be proud of me. This is important to me because he has a trans dad, not the dad that everyone dreams of. But I hope he will be proud of me.”

For the unversed, the Italian athlete was diagnosed with Stargardt disease when she was 14, a retinal disease that causes a progressive loss of vision, which made her eligible for the Paralympics competition. However, her participation has stirred controversy. Petrillo, who began her transition in 2019, has been competing in para sports outings since she was 41.

Valentina Petrillo at Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (Image: Getty)

Petrillo’s decision to undergo a gender transition after a suc­cessful career as a male para‑athlete had caused a storm of controversy. After being the subject of scrutiny, the Italian athletics federation received a petition signed by over 30 athletes in 2021 demanding the tarns runner’s removal from female competition.

However, the rules established by the World Para Athletics Association allowed transgender athletes to compete in women’s competition if they are “recognised as female in law”. It is pertinent to note that this rule is contrary to that set by World Athletics, which decides entry into the Summer Olympics.

Petrillo is set to return to the track on Friday to compete in the T12 200m heats.