What Happened in Lia Thomas' Locker Rooms?

What Happened in Lia Thomas' Locker Rooms?

Lia Thomas responds to doctors who say Thomas has an unfair advantage over biologically female swimmers



Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas said that she didn't transition to have an advantage over biologically female swimmers — she wanted to "be her authentic self" and even wants to compete in the Olympics.

Thomas' remarks come as two physicians told the New York Times that they believe the NCAA swimmer has a leg up on her competition due to having been born male.

What are the details?

Thomas told "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that she doesn't feel that she needs "anybody's permission to be myself" and criticized those who champion transgender rights except for in the circumstance of women's sports.

"You can't go halfway and be like 'I support trans people but only to a certain point,'" she said. "If you support trans women and they've met all the NCAA requirements, I don't know if you can say something like that. ... Trans women are not a threat to women's sports."

She later added, "Trans people don't transition for athletics. We transition to be happy and authentic and to be ourselves. ... Transition to get an advantage is not something that factors into our decisions."

Thomas later noted, "It's been a goal of mine to swim at Olympic trials for a very long time. I would love to see that through."

What else?

Last week, Michael Joyner and sports physiologist Ross Tucker told the Times that Thomas' biological makeup presents her with an unfair advantage over biologically female swimmers even though she took hormone-suppressing drugs for the NCAA-required amount of time.

Joyner told the outlet that while girls typically grow faster when compared to boys, boys quickly surpass their female counterparts when puberty comes into play.

"You see the divergence immediately as the testosterone surges into the boys," Joyner explained. "There are dramatic differences in performances.”

He added that while "social aspects to sport" exist, physiology and biology "underpin it."

"Testosterone is the 800-pound gorilla," he added.

Tucker noted, "Lia Thomas is the manifestation of the scientific evidence. The reduction in testosterone did not remove her biological advantage.

NYT: Doctors say Lia Thomas has unfair advantage over biologically female swimmers



Two doctors have told The New York Times that they believe transgender NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas — who was able to swim for the University of Pennsylvania in women's events due to having taken NCAA-mandated testosterone suppressants — has an unfair advantage over biologically female swimmers.

What are the details?

Mayo Clinic Dr. Michael Joyner and sports physiologist Ross Tucker told the outlet that Thomas' very status as a transgender woman is what gives her a vast advantage over biologically female swimmers.

Joyner and Tucker added that 22-year-old Thomas has an overall biological advantage even though she took the hormone-suppressing drugs for the required time.

According to the report, Joyner said that since girls typically grow at a faster rate when compared to boys of the same age, they generally have a competitive advantage in their early years. Puberty, however, is far more than a great equalizer: "You see the divergence immediately as the testosterone surges into the boys," Joyner insisted. "There are dramatic differences in performances.”

He added that while "social aspects to sport" exist, physiology and biology "underpin it."

"Testosterone is the 800-pound gorilla," he insisted.

Tucker doubled down on Joyner's remarks and added, "Lia Thomas is the manifestation of the scientific evidence. The reduction in testosterone did not remove her biological advantage."

What else is there to know about this?

Thomas in March told Sports Illustrated that competitive swimming is something she's always wanted to do.

“I’m a woman, just like anybody else on the team,” Thomas told the sports magazine. “I’ve always viewed myself as just a swimmer. It’s what I’ve done for so long; it’s what I love. I get into the water every day and do my best.”

She added, "I just want to show trans kids and younger trans athletes that they’re not alone. They don’t have to choose between who they are and the sport they love.”

Professor says transgender swimmer Lia Thomas is just like Jackie Robinson and ought to be celebrated as a trailblazer in women's sports



Opinion writer and professor Cheryl Cooky said over the weekend that the country ought to celebrate University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas instead of criticizing the transgender swimmer — even going as far as to compare the athlete to baseball legend Jackie Robinson.

Last week, Thomas became the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I championship in any sport despite ongoing controversy surrounding eligibility to compete as a transgender woman in typically biological women's sports.

What are the details?

In an editorial published on NBC News, Cooky — a professor of American studies and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Purdue University — wrote, "For anyone who cares about the advancement of sports, and women's sports in particular, her win should be celebrated."

Further, Cooky added, Thomas should be "embraced in the history of progress that sports represent and recognized as the trailblazer that she is."

"Women's sports are situated at a paradoxical intersection wherein sex segregation is upheld through claims of biological difference, yet equality is prefaced on being treated the same and given the same opportunities as men," she reasoned. "If we are to change this, we need to ask some important questions."

Those questions, according to the professor, include "How does one advocate for equitable treatment while also adhering to the notion of biological difference?" and "If separate is not equal in the case of schools, bathrooms, restaurants or other social institutions, can separate ever truly be equal in the case of sports?"

Cooky added she believes the playing field between transgender women and biological women is level enough, as regulations require biological men to undergo hormone-suppressing treatment for what she says is a reasonable amount of time leading up to being able to participate in their women's sport of choice.

"Athletic performance is influenced by a number of factors, including hormones, but also other things like coaching and training, psychological makeup of an athlete, access to resources and equipment, among others," she reasoned. "Attempts to ban or limit the participation of trans athletes are not based on science. Instead, they are rooted in societal and cultural definitions of what constitutes gender or what defines a woman."

Such attitudes, she added, only lead to discrimination against transgender women.

Cooky then concluded the editorial by going on to compare Thomas' inclusion to Robinson's.

"Major professional sports leagues like MLB and the NFL resisted racially integrating their player rosters," she wrote. "It was not until 1962 that the last NFL team, the Washington Commanders, would racially integrate. Moreover, athletes of color played in the NFL in the early years of the league, only to be excluded as the league developed. Today, athletes like Jackie Robinson are celebrated as 'breaking the color barrier' in sports, although that narrative often requires sanitizing, simplifying or rewriting a more complex, nuanced and contradictory history."

She added, "There remains though a cultural investment in celebrating sports' 'firsts,' whether that be Robinson as the first Black MLB player, the first openly gay active player in the NBA, the first nonbinary U.S. athlete to participate in the Winter Olympics or the first woman to score in a Power Five college football game. Many of the athletes who become the 'first' encounter resistance, backlash and opposition, especially from those who have historically benefited from the status quo in sports."

The professor concluded by pointing out that Thomas, as such, should be elevated to Robinson's status and celebrated for "the trailblazer that she is."

"Thomas, as the first transgender athlete to win a Division I NCAA championship, deserves to be placed among the other firsts," Cook insisted. "She should be embraced in the history of progress that sports represent and recognized as the trailblazer that she is."

UPenn teammate of Lia Thomas believes the transgender swimmer arranged to lose race to biological female to prove men aren't always stronger



A University of Pennsylvania women's swim team member claimed to OutKick that teammate Lia Thomas — a biological male who transitioned to female and has been dominating the competition this season — arranged to lose a recent race to a Yale biological female to prove men aren't always stronger than women.

What's the background?

After three years of racing against men, Thomas has been competing as a transgender female this season and has broken several UPenn and Ivy League women's records in the process. In one long-distance race, Thomas bested the second-place finisher by over half a minute.

Just to show you how absurd this is. Here\u2019s the trans swimmer \u201cLia\u201d Thomas crushing all of the female competitors by 40 seconds. This is what that looks like in real time. A total farce.pic.twitter.com/kAi9GgF5sj
— Matt Walsh (@Matt Walsh) 1639543600

But Yale University's Iszac Henig beat Thomas in the in the 100-meter freestyle Jan. 8 with a time of 49.57 seconds; Thomas finished with a time of 52.84 seconds.

Thing is, Henig also is transgender — but in the opposite direction. Henig is a biological female transitioning to male who hasn't taken hormones yet, which allows Henig to still race against women.

What did Thomas' teammate claim?

The UPenn swimmer — a biological female — spoke to OutKick on the condition of anonymity "due to what is viewed as threats from the university, activists, and the current political climate" and said she believes Thomas and Henig colluded before the Jan. 8 meet.

“Looking at [Lia’s] time, I don’t think she was trying,” the Penn swimmer alleged to OutKick. “I know they’re friends, and I know they were talking before the meet. I think she let her win to prove the point that, ‘Oh see, a female-to-male beat me.'”

Lia Thomas dominated by fellow Ivy League transgender swimmer Iszac Henig https://trib.al/M5dKB9b\u00a0pic.twitter.com/wQWXBWYZyT
— New York Post (@New York Post) 1641789663

The outlet pressed the swimmer on whether she believes Thomas' loss to Henig was arranged, and she replied, “I do. I can’t say for sure, but I wouldn’t be shocked if I found out that was 100% true."

The athletic departments for UPenn and Yale on Friday didn't immediately reply to TheBlaze's requests for comment on the allegation.

'It was blatantly obvious'

And Thomas' losing time of 52.84 seconds? In November, Thomas swam the 100 freestyle in 49.42, OutKick said — which would have bested Henig on Jan. 8.

The UPenn women's swimmer also told the outlet that Thomas appeared to take it easy during the 200-meter freestyle Jan. 8, yet Thomas still won by two seconds with a time of 1:48:73.

“I was on deck and said to a friend, ‘She’s literally not trying.’ You could just tell,” she told OutKick. “It was blatantly obvious. I was watching the 200 free, and [Thomas] was literally keeping pace with the other girls. She was No. 1 in the country at one point. These are definitely talented swimmers, but they’re not the caliber of being at the top in the country or anything like that.”

The anonymous UPenn swimmer added to the outlet that "you can tell when someone is dying, and they’re swimming slow. You can also tell when someone is not trying, and I could see [in the 200 freestyle] that Lia was not trying.”

OutKick also noted that Thomas was accused by those in attendance of “coasting” and “barely trying” in the 500 freestyle race that Thomas won by one second.

Anything else?

A mixture of outrage and support has followed Thomas for the past few months:

Thomas has qualified for the women’s NCAA championships in the 200 and 500 freestyle, OutKick said.

UPenn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas defeated by transgender swimmer from Yale



University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas – who is transgender – was defeated by a swimmer from Yale University – who is also a transgender individual. The unusual showdown happened during an Ivy League tri-meet between UPenn, Yale, and Dartmouth on Saturday.

Thomas – a biologically male swimmer – had been smoking the female competition while competing as a transgender athlete. This year, Thomas has obliterated several UPenn and Ivy League women's records while competing as a female. During the 1,650-yard freestyle race at the Zippy Invitational Event in Akron, Ohio, Thomas annihilated the second-place finisher by a whopping 38 seconds.

However, the 22-year-old Thomas met her match on Saturday against Iszac Henig from Yale University. Like Thomas, Henig is a transgender swimmer. However, the 20-year-old Henig is a biological female transitioning to a male. Henig came out to coaches and teammates in April 2021.

In June, Henig wrote in a New York Times column that he wasn’t taking hormones to continue to compete in women's swimming.

"As a student-athlete, coming out as a trans guy put me in a weird position," Henig wrote. "I could start hormones to align more with myself, or wait, transition socially, and keep competing on a women's swim team. I decided on the latter."

"I value my contributions to the team and recognize that my boyhood doesn't hinge on whether there's more or less testosterone running through my veins," he continued. "At least, that's what I'll try to remember when I put on the women's swimsuit for the competition and am reminded of a self I no longer feel attached to."

Henig easily defeated the competition in the women's 100-meter freestyle with a time of 49.57 seconds. Thomas finished fifth with a time of 52.84 seconds. In the 400-freestyle relay, Henig completed his leg in 50.45 seconds versus Thomas’ 51.94.

The Daily Mail reported what happened following Henig's big win, "After the race, the 20-year-old, who has had his breasts removed, pulled down the top of his swimsuit."

An anonymous UPenn parent told the Daily Mail, "I wasn’t prepared for that. Everything is messed up. I can’t wrap my head around this. The NCAA needs to do something about this. They need to put science into the decision and discussion."

This week, the University of Pennsylvania and the Ivy League issued statements supporting the inclusion of transgender swimmers in women's competitions.

UPenn's next meet on Jan. 22, against Harvard.

UPenn swimmers wanted to boycott final meet over transgender teammate but were 'afraid to be perceived as transphobic': Report



Lia Thomas – a biologically male swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania – has been obliterating female competitors while competing as a transgender athlete. The conundrum of Thomas benefiting from a biological advantage over female competitors pushed UPenn swimmers to consider boycotting the team's final home meet. However, the Ivy League swimmers ultimately decided against boycotting the swim meet because they were afraid of repercussions for being "perceived as transphobic."

Thomas, 22, competed as a male for three years at the University of Pennsylvania before undergoing a year of testosterone suppression treatment and becoming a transgender athlete to compete against women. This year, Thomas has smashed multiple UPenn and Ivy League women's records while competing as a female. During the 1,650-yard freestyle race at the Zippy Invitational Event in Akron, Ohio, Thomas blew away the second-place finisher by a whopping 38 seconds.

After Thomas continued to destroy female swimmers, tensions began to surface. An anonymous UPenn swimmer voiced her concerns over her transgender teammate.

"Pretty much everyone individually has spoken to our coaches about not liking this," the swimmer told Outkick. "Our coach [Mike Schnur] just really likes winning. He’s like most coaches. I think secretly everyone just knows it’s the wrong thing to do."

A second anonymous member of the UPenn swim team explained how competing against a biological male is demoralizing and unfair.

"They feel so discouraged because no matter how much work they put in it, they’re going to lose," she told Outkick.

Thomas allegedly bragged about being the best female swimmer in the country.

"Well, obviously she’s No. 1 in the country because she’s at a clear physical advantage after having gone through male puberty and getting to train with testosterone for years," the swimmer said of Thomas. "Of course you’re No. 1 in the country when you’re beating a bunch of females. That’s not something to brag about."

Teammates allegedly became so frustrated over the situation that they considered boycotting the team's last home meet.

A source close to the team of 41 women told the Daily Mail, "They've been ignored by both Penn and the NCAA, and there is a feeling among some of the girls that they should make some sort of statement, seize the opportunity while they have a spotlight on them to make their feelings about the issue known."

However, the swimmers likely won't participate in a boycott at the Jan. 8 meet against Dartmouth in fear of consequences.

"Knowing they do not have backing from the school or NCAA, they're reluctant to jeopardize their opportunity to make the elite Ivy League squad," the source told the outlet.

Some of the swimmers have purportedly considered other types of protests such as a "false start."

A parent of one of the swimmers added, "It's possible the swimmers may end up doing nothing because they are so afraid to be perceived as transphobic."

"If it were me, I'd step up with a sign on my chest stating something like - 'NCAA - Speak up. We need answers,'" one parent told the Daily Mail.

On his first day as president, Joe Biden signed the "Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation." The executive order declared that any school that receives federal funding must allow biological males who identify as females to compete in girls' sports teams. Schools that don't fall in line face possible administrative action from the Education Department, which includes the loss of federal funding.

Penn's Lia Thomas Opens Up On Journey, Transition To Women's Swimming www.youtube.com

Piers Morgan tears into transgender college swimmer: 'If Michael Phelps began competing as a transgender woman, all hell would break loose'



British broadcaster Piers Morgan blasted transgender college swimmer Lia Thomas after she dominated earlier this week in collegiate meets, smashing records previously held by biological women.

Thomas, a 22-year-old enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, previously competed for three years in men's swimming under the name Will Thomas.

She was required to undergo one year of testosterone suppression treatment in order to qualify for the women's events.

What are the details?

In a lengthy essay published in the Daily Mail, Morgan said that if Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps decided to compete as a transgender woman, "all hell would break loose."

"If Michael Phelps began competing as a transgender woman, all hell would break loose," Morgan began, "so why is nothing being done to stop trans athletes like Lia Thomas from destroying women's sport?"

According to Morgan, Phelps, who won 28 Olympic medals — including 23 gold medals — "achieved this staggering statistical dominance through a combination of physical prowess, dazzling skill, and a uniquely steely work ethic and determination to be the very best."

In short, Phelps was an incredibly talented, young, fit male who trained seven days a week and competed against fellow male swimmers who — while undoubtedly talented — were simply not in his league.

"Now imagine what would have happened if Phelps had transitioned into a female when at the peak of his powers?" Morgan added. "He, now she, wouldn't have just dominated women's swimming – he, now she, would have smashed all the women's records by such vast margins that no woman born with a female biological body would have ever come close to beating any of them ever again."

This, according to Morgan, is happening on a much smaller stage.

Thomas on Sunday competed at an event in Akron, Ohio, demolishing her fellow swimmers in the 1,650-yard freestyle event. Thomas took a 38-second lead by even her nearest rival, collegiate swimmer Anna Sofia Kalandaze, setting a pool, meet, and program record all in one shot.

Saturday saw Thomas clinch the 200-yard freestyle at 1:41:93 — seven seconds ahead of her closest rival — which has been the fastest finish in the United States.

On Friday, she won the 500-yard freestyle event by 14 seconds, setting a new Ivy League record.

Morgan added that Thomas has an obvious — and grossly unfair — advantage over her female rivals who are now no longer able to swim at the same competitive level in their sport.

Allowing transgender women born in male bodies — which Morgan insisted have "hugely superior physical advantage[s]" — to compete in women's sports will do nothing more than vaporize the viability of natural-born women's records.

"It's happening in myriad sports now including sprinting, cycling and weight-lifting — and I don't care how loudly the woke brigade squeals, it's just plain unfair and is crushing the hopes, dreams, and hard work of so many female athletes," Morgan added.

Thomas, Morgan pointed out, will continue to demolish women's swimming records not because she's a brilliant and talented swimmer, but because she's a man competing against women.

"Lia Thomas is on her way to irrevocably disintegrating women's swimming records," he wrote. "Not because she's a natural-born brilliant swimmer, because when she competed as a man, she was mediocre at best. No, she will do it because she's got a hugely advantageous physique over her female rivals."

He reasoned, "What will it take to stop this transgender sporting madness? Does Floyd Mayweather have to identify as a woman and get into the ring as a female boxer? Or Usain Bolt come out of retirement to compete on the women's springing circuit? Or perhaps Michael Phelps really should transition and jump in the pool against women half his size and with a fraction of his speed?

The broadcaster concluded with a warning: "Stop this insanity now, before it's too late."

Anything else?

In June, Thomas told the school newspaper that being able to continue swimming despite transitioning is "very rewarding."

"The process of coming out as being trans and continuing to swim was a lot of uncertainty and unknown around an area that's usually really solid," Thomas said at the time. "Realizing I was trans threw that into question. Was I going to keep swimming? What did that look like? ... Being trans has not affected my ability to do this sport and being able to continue is very rewarding."

Trans Athlete Shatters Records In This Sport, Can Women's Sports Survive? | DM CLIPS | Rubin Report www.youtube.com

Transgender college swimmer who swam as a man for 3 years now crushing the competition at women's meets



After three years of competing as a male, a transgender swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania switched to competing as a female and is now dominating the competition, the Daily Wire reported this week.

What are the details?

Senior swimmer Lia Thomas, formerly known as Will Thomas, reportedly broke multiple school and conference records during a Nov. 20 swim meet against Cornell University and Princeton University.

According to SwimSwam, Thomas "blasted the number one 200 free time and the second-fastest 500 free time in the nation on Saturday, breaking Penn program records in both events." The swimming blog later noted that Thomas's times in both races marked new Ivy League records, as well.

Thomas also reportedly "swept the 100-200-500 free individual events and contributed to" Penn's first-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle relay. Thomas's time in the 200-meter free was "only half a second off the NCAA A cut" and was "the second-fastest women’s 200 free time in the nation so far this season," the blog added.

Earlier in the month, Thomas reportedly "took home a pair of gold medals in the 200 free and 100 free with margins of 5.4 seconds and 1.3 seconds" in a meet against Columbia University.

According to Penn Athletics, Thomas was much less dominant during his freshman, sophomore, and junior years at the school.

What's the background?

Thomas, who co-chairs Penn Non-Cis, a university club that seeks to build community for transgender and non-cisgender people, has reportedly been swimming competitively from a young age.

A prolific high school swimmer, Thomas enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania in 2017 with lofty ambitions. Between 2017 and 2019, Thomas competed as a male at the university, then took a year off during the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon returning, Thomas began competing as a female during the 2021 season.

“The process of coming out as being trans and continuing to swim was a lot of uncertainty and unknown around an area that’s usually really solid," Thomas recounted to Penn Today earlier this year. "Realizing I was trans threw that into question. Was I going to keep swimming? What did that look like?”

“Being trans has not affected my ability to do this sport and being able to continue is very rewarding,” Thomas added.

Anything else?

For some, Thomas' newfound success as a transgender athlete is considered a celebration of inclusiveness in collegiate athletics. But for many others, it is seen as yet another damaging blow to women's sports.

The latter group laments that when transgender females — who were born biologically male — compete in women's sporting events, they enjoy an obvious physical advantage and often leave female competitors unfairly outmatched and discouraged.