Dan Orlovsky became a linchpin of attention in the sports media world, but not for a football-related opinion.
On Thursday, the ESPN gridiron analyst tweeted “Protect our daughters” in response to controversy surrounding Algerian boxer Imane Khelif.
The original Olympic dispute was sparked after Khelif forced her opponent, Italy’s Angela Carini, to bow out of their boxing match in just 46 seconds after Carini suggested she felt power that she never had before.
After being called out by countless football fans, though, Orlovsky ultimately deleted the post.
Those around the football landscape dug deeper into Orlovsky’s background and religious views, ultimately circulating an article from 2021 in which the ex-quarterback made comments surrounding spending time with women.
“And when I say I’m with a group, I mean group. Jon Kitna taught me to never be one-on-one with a female,” the 37-year-old wrote in an “All Pro Dad” article entitled “4 Ways to Avoid Temptation.”
Though Orlovsky has not since discussed his deleted post, replies to other tweets of his — including regarding Titans star DeAndre Hopkins being injured — were chock full of angry remarks.
“You gonna own up to your deleted tweet man?” replied one user, who received more likes than on Orlovsky’s original post.
Imane Khelif.“First Take”
Others transferred Orlovsky’s “Protect our daughters” phrase to cutups of his NFL statline, during which he started only 12 of 26 total games while playing for the infamously winless 2008 Detroit Lions.
Khelif was permitted to compete in the Paris Olympics despite not passing gender eligibility tests during the 2023 World Championships because of “elevated levels of testosterone” that exceeded the threshold for women.
boxing quarterfinals on Saturday.Getty Images
As Khelif readies for her 66kg quarterfinal matchup with Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori on Saturday, debate has continued to rage about whether or not the 27-year-old should be allowed to participate.The likes of Logan Paul and Pat McAfee, among others, have expressed their doubts, though Paul later put forth a partial apology and pleaded a degree of ignorance.
