David Douilletborn February 17, 1969 in Rouen, is a emblematic figure of judo. With two gold medals at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and 2000 in Sydney, as well as four world titles, he is considered one of the most illustrious judokas of all time. His imposing stature of 1m96 and 120 kilos does not go unnoticed His sporting career has left an indelible mark on the history of judo, placing him among the greatest.
the most famous athletes in France. After leaving the tatami mats, David Douillet turned to politics, becoming a deputy then Secretary of State for Sports under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy. However, despite his success, David Douillet is not immune to controversy. Quite the contrary.
David Douillet: his controversial statements about women resurface
David Douillet's comments regarding women sparked mixed reactions. Known for expressing his opinions bluntly, he recently criticized
the taxation of medals at the Olympics. However, let's go back: in his autobiography The Soul of a Fighter, published in 1998, the former athlete made statements now considered very old-fashioned and misogynistic.
Indeed, David Douillet argued that the natural role of women was to stay at home to take care of children. “For me, a woman who fights in judo or in another discipline is not something natural or rewarding.
For the balance of the children, I think that the woman is better at home”he wrote in his book.
Comments considered misogynistic
However, that's not all. The judoka asserted that for a woman, practicing high-level sports like judo was neither natural nor rewarding. According to him, women have a “original instinct” to take care of childrenand maternal presence is crucial for family balance. Naturally, these statements were quickly taken up and described as “rational misogyny”.
David Douillet had also argued that women could not fully assume their role as mothers while having a professional career. Although these remarks were heavily criticized and fell into obscurity over time, they resurfaced in 2023 during a controversy with Clarisse Agbégnénou. The judokate wanted to fight with her own kimono rather than the one provided by the Federation.
Clarisse Agbégnénou at war against judoka
For his part, David Douillet had defended the position of the federation recalling that the latter did not benefit from much financial support and that there were partnership agreements. During his intervention on the Grandes Gueules set on RMC, David Douillet then insisted on the need for Clarisse Agbégnénou to discuss your demands with the federation, rather than extracting oneself from the system in place.
His remarks were perceived by some as a new attack against the young athlete, and this situation was an opportunity for her to subtly refer to her former sexist statements: “David Douillet allows himself to say a lot of insulting things towards me, but this is not his first cavalier outing towards women. “.
David Douillet defends himself, in vain
For his part, the famous sportsman denied any sexist nature in his current comments, firmly affirming that he had never had
the intention to insult anyone. He also wanted to express his admiration for Clarisse Agbégnénou while affirming that he would have made the same remarks for any athlete. Yet criticism of his former statements persists.
Clarisse Agbégnénou concluded with irony, hoping that David Douillet would revisit his opinions in a future reissue of his autobiography: “I hope he writes an autobiography again, to change the situation! That would be good. » One thing is certain: David Douillet does not seem not wanting to go back on his words, and neither does Clarisse Agbégnénou. Not sure that the two judokas will one day become friends.
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