Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas has answered critics who say the only reason she became a woman was so she could win.
Thomas was the first transgender athlete to win a national championship on the Division I level. Her victory, however, came with a lot of criticism.
“The biggest misconception, I think, is the reason I transitioned,” Thomas said in an interview with ABC and ESPN. “People will say, ‘Oh, she just transitioned so she would have an advantage, so she could win.’ I transitioned to be happy, to be true to myself.”
Thomas swam with the UPenn men’s swimming team for three years before transiting and then joining the women’s team, which some thought had given her an advantage over other females competing.
The purpose of this is to provide context and debunk the rumors floating around that 4:18 and 14:54 aren't fast. They are. They're not winning NCAAs fast, but they are fast.
— Kyle Sockwell (@kylesockwell) March 18, 2022
Caitlyn Jenner, who also transitioned a few years back, is a loud and vocal critic of Thomas. Jenner thought the NCAA caved to what she said was the “woke crowd” when it came to Thomas.
“The NCAA should have done the honorable thing to protect these women. It is their obligation to do so. Yet, the NCAA caved to the woke mob and refused to protect women, on all levels,” Jenner wrote a few months ago in a New York Post opinion column.
No, I just had the balls to stand up for women and girls in sports. https://t.co/FEl2Hav5z6
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) March 17, 2022
The NCAA has since stood by Thomas, who also spoke in the interview about the legal drama happening across the country as lawmakers make changes to keep transgender athletes from competing in sports.
“Trans women competing in women’s sports does not threaten women’s sports as a whole,” Thomas said. “Trans women are a very small minority of all athletes. The NCAA rules regarding trans women competing in women’s sports have been around for 10-plus years. And we haven’t seen any massive wave of trans women dominating.”
She also adds that the central idea in the middle of these issues is that transgender women are women.
“It’s no different than a cis woman taking a spot on a travel team or a scholarship. It’s a part of athletics, where people are competing against each other. It’s not taking away opportunities from cis women, really. Trans women are women, so it’s still a woman who is getting that scholarship or that opportunity.”
{ESPN}
