A prominent Auckland boxing trainer has deleted an Instagram post appearing to mock the legitimacy of Laurel Hubbard's selection to compete at competitions since she is transgender.
The New Zealand weightlifter became the first trans woman to compete at the Olympics when she appeared in the final of the women's +87kg category on Monday night. She placed last with three failed snatch lifts.
Under current rules, each individual sport decides the guidelines for qualification. In this instance, it was the International Weightlifting Federation and it set the rules before qualifications began.
The International Olympic Committee backed Hubbard's selection, saying that she can compete under current rules.
Following her appearance in the weightlifting finals, City Kickboxing co-owner Doug Viney shared in an Instagram post on Tuesday morning appearing to mock the legitimacy of Hubbard's selection.
"Since NZ can send a man into women weightlifting comps, I'm gona start training (sic)," he wrote in his post that has since been deleted.
The photo he shared shows Hubbard in the midst of competing and holding a barbell over her head, and Viney is pictured holding a bar just below his chin.
Hubbard has experienced years of criticism for being a trans athlete, including from some New Zealand athletes, who believe she has an unfair advantage since she went through male puberty.
A City Kickboxing spokesperson told Newshub in a statement that the senior team member posted a "mistakenly-worded caption" regarding his opinion on the regulations governing the participation of transgender women in women's sporting competition.
"City Kickboxing's stance towards the trans community is in no way reflected by the now deleted comments. We would like to apologise for the use of the wrong pronoun referring to Laurel Hubbard's gender. City Kickboxing takes the importance of being an inclusive, diverse environment for all members seriously," the spokesperson says.
They say they support Hubbard's right to transition and live life as a trans woman.
"We do not support those who have attacked Ms Hubbard personally in the debate around inclusion of transgender women in cis women's sport," they say.
"The focus should be on the eligibility requirements of the International Weightlifting Federation and the International Olympic Committee, not the athletes who have met the criteria and qualified to participate in the Olympics."
A screenshot of Viney's post was shared to social media, where several Twitter users said they reported his post for hate speech.
"Doug Viney [is] a guy who is happy to be openly transphobic and thinks it's f*****g funny on his social media. I'm sorry not sorry but f**k supporting any business that is owned by trash humans like him," one person said.
In an interview the morning after her Olympic competition, Hubbard recognised the significance of her appearance, especially given the controversy surrounding her involvement in Tokyo.
"The world is changing," she told reporters on Tuesday morning. "There are opportunities for people to be out in the world and do things just as any other person would do.
"If there's one thing I'd like to pass on it's this: life is difficult. There are disappointments, I know I have some today, as do we all. But if you just keep pressing on, it does get better."
