In this file photo from May 2021, William Tate gives his first press conference as LSU president-elect with members of the LSU Board of Supervisors behind him.
In this file photo from May 2021, William Tate gives his first press conference as LSU president-elect with members of the LSU Board of Supervisors behind him. Credit: JC Canicosa/Louisiana Illuminator

LSU President William Tate shared a video Thursday from an anti-transgender advocacy group on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that amplified misinformation about an Olympic athlete. 

The video was from an Olympic boxing match earlier Thursday in France between Imane Khelif of Algeria and Angela Carini of Italy. It shows Carini backing out of the match after being struck by Khelif. Carini’s actions and tearful comments reignited controversy related to Khelif’s gender. 

“This is illegal in Louisiana,” Tate wrote. “We have established guidelines in our laws. Why don’t the Olympics go to two divisions — Open and Women? It allows everyone to compete. Will it take a death to stop this at the Olympic level?” 

Khelif is not transgender. According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Khelif was born a woman, has always lived as a woman and has a female passport. Khelif was previously disqualified from a non-Olympic competition after the International Boxing Association, which in 2019 was stripped of its status by the IOC, identified high levels of testosterone in her system, which can occur naturally in cisgender women, who are born and identify as women. 

Carini later apologized, the Associated Press reported

“All this controversy makes me sad,” Carini said. “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. … If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”

The competition between the two women would not be illegal in Louisiana, as Tate later conceded in a subsequent X post. Louisiana’s law that bars transgender athletes from competing in accordance to their gender identity requires athletes to compete based on the sex listed on their birth certificate. 

Tate’s post falsely implied Khelif is not a woman and that she is transgender. Khelif is from Algeria, which does not have any legal protections for LGBTQ+ people. Algeria does not allow people to change their legal sex.

LSU spokesman Todd Woodward did not respond to a request for comment for this report. 

When Louisiana passed its transgender athlete ban in 2022, several legislators and LGBTQ+ advocates predicted the law could be weaponized against women who are not transgender but do not conform to gender norms or traditional beauty standards.

Tate was not the only public figure to post about the boxing match. Ultra-conservative politicians such as former President Donald Trump, Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill amplified misinformation about Khelif. 

In their own posts Thursday morning, Landry and Murrill identified Khelif as a “biological male,” which is false. 

Peyton Rose Michelle, executive director of Louisiana Trans Advocates, speculated Tate’s comments were made in an appeal to the arch-conservative governor. 

After multiple people pointed out his error, Tate later dialed down his comments. 

“I apologize for the error and any harm caused,” he wrote later on X. “I am committed to a solution that allows for broad, fair and safe participation. We can get there.” 

Tate’s follow-up post did not acknowledge that Khelif is a woman. His original post, containing misinformation, was left up. 

Michelle said it was unfortunate the head of a major research institution spoke publicly about something he did not understand. 

“I guess it also really shows his unwillingness to be educated by his staff,” Michelle said. 

Michelle also said Tate’s comments could have a negative impact on transgender students at the university. 

Tate’s comments contradict his own espoused beliefs about institutional neutrality. In a speech to the LSU Faculty Senate last fall, he spoke of his belief that university presidents shouldn’t be engaged in political speech

“I believe [faculty] and the students should be free to make any statement you want to about any matter and we should defend your right to do that,” Tate said at the meeting. “I don’t believe that the president should be making statements that squashes your ability to have free speech.” 

It also puts him out of step with an LSU Faculty Senate resolution passed in April calling for institutional neutrality on social and political Issues

“To empower and protect academic freedom and inquiry for faculty and students, when a social or political issue arises that does not directly concern the academic mission of LSU, leadership at or above the college or school level will not issue a position statement on that issue and will refrain from any other actions that could constrain faculty discours,” the resolution reads. 

LSU Faculty Senate President Dan Tirone said Tate could argue his comments were made in a personal capacity, and not in his official role, which might not technically violate the resolution. 

“Regardless of whether it was a technical violation, I am glad that he recognized the impact of his comments and issued an apology,” Tirone said in a statement. “I can’t speak for the university but I believe everyone at LSU, including the President, is committed to creating an environment that is welcoming and supportive for all current and prospective members of our campus community and any type of discriminatory behavior is at odds with our policies and goals.”

Tate has historically refrained from making overt political statements — something that has put him crosswise with the faculty at times. 

After criticisms that he did not speak out against a 2022 Louisiana Senate resolution that sought to study and reform tenure, viewed by faculty as one of the keys to academic freedom, Tate said he prefers a “behind the scenes” approach. 

Tate has walked a tight political line since he was appointed as the first Black president of LSU. Shortly after he took office, he controversially disbanded a campus renaming committee interim President Thomas Galligan created to address buildings named after problematic figures. 

Tate’s strategy has shifted notably since Landry’s election. 

One business day before Landry was to be inaugurated, LSU stripped diversity language from its website and renamed its Division of Inclusion, Civil Rights & Title IX to the Division of Engagement, Civil Rights and Title IX. 

The retreat from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), which has become a target of conservative lawmakers and far-right activists, came as a reversal for Tate, a critical race theory scholar who championed the creation of the Division of Inclusion, Civil Rights & Title IX and hired an experienced DEI practitioner to run the office. 

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Piper Hutchinson is a reporter for the Louisiana Illuminator. She has covered the Legislature and state government extensively for the LSU Manship News Service and The Reveille, where she was named editor...