'Women are now third-class citizens': UPenn swimmer speaks out against trans teammate Lia Thomas and says she 'wasn't even close to being competitive as a man' after her latest wins
An anonymous University of Pennsylvania swimmer has slammed transgender teammate Lia Thomas as she continued to dominate in the pool in a meet against Harvard this weekend, saying that she was 'not even close to being competitive' when competing as a man.
The swimmer, who chose to remain anonymous, spoke to the Washington Examiner about the advantages Thomas, 22, has gained through her transition, especially after the USA Swimming team announced it will allow 'non-elite' athletes to compete in a way that is 'consistent with their gender identity.'
On Thursday, USA Swimming said that it will release a new policy 'shortly' on whether elite trans athletes, like Thomas who competes for an Ivy League school, can compete against biological women.
'Women are now third-class citizens,' the swimmer said, noting that Thomas was not as good a swimmer when competing against the men but thrived against women.
'Lia was not even close to being competitive as a man in the 50 and the 100 (freestyle events),' she added. 'But just because Lia is biologically a man, she is just naturally better than many females in the 50 and the 100 or anything that she wasn't good at as a man.'
Competing during an NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, Thomas won the Women's 100m and Women's 200m Freestyle races, although the margin's were far narrower than in previous races she won in 2021.
An anonymous member of the University of Pennsylvania women's swim team has spoken out against transgender teammate Lia Thomas
Thomas competes in the 200 meter freestyle during an NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard on Saturday
Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, right, towers over her teammates as she dries off after after warming up with the team before the NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard
Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, center, competes against Harvard's Erin Cavanagh, left, and Harvard's Felici Passadyn at the start of the women's 200 meter freestyle race during the an NCAA college swimming meet
Thomas won her 100m race in 50.55 seconds with her closest competitor coming in at 51.51. In the 200m race, she won in 1:47.08 with the second place being secured in 1:48.44.
Thomas was on the UPenn men's team during her first three years, but she is now competing on the women's team this season after transitioning from male to female. She was required to undergo hormone therapy for at least a year before being allowed to compete as a woman.
But, her inclusion in the women's team and been slammed by her teammates, with one this weekend saying that she believes the NCAA are failing to protect her fellow teammates and competitors.
'The top people at NCAA, who are on the board of directors … they are not protecting women's rights,' the Penn swimmer said. 'Imagine if there was this kind of inequality in men's sports? Or someone found out about doping in a men's sport. It would be fixed in a blink of an eye. Everyone would be all over it. But because it's women, they don't care.'
Thomas' controversial wins saw the NCAA review its guidelines for male-to-female trans athletes on Wednesday, but the body ultimately washed its hands of the row surrounding transgender athletes in college athletics.
Under the new guidelines, approved by the NCAA Board of Governors, transgender participation for each sport will be determined by the policy for each sport's national governing body. In Thomas' case, this would fall under USA Swimming.
NCAA rules on transgender athletes returned to the forefront when Thomas started smashing records late last year.
The anonymous Penn swimmer also claims that many people agree with her and that despite her general liberalism politically, this is past the rubicon.
'People have come up to me and said this is so wrong,' she said. 'I am typically liberal, but this is past that. This is so wrong. This doesn't make any sense.'
She wants more people to speak out against what she believes is a problem, but doesn't want to harm her future.
'I can't just sit back and let something like this happen. I'm not just going to sit back and say, 'My rights are being taken away, too bad.' It's embarrassing that people aren't speaking out more.'
'It's crazy because I don't actually know if Lia thinks this is fair,' she added. 'This can't possibly be rewarding in any way. I can't see how anyone could feel good about this.'
Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas speaks to her coach after winning the 200 meter freestyle during an NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard on Saturday
Transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, 22, won two of her races on Saturday although her win's were by narrower margins than of late
Although her previous wins sparked controversy having smashed several women's records in the pool Saturday's timings were similar to her competitors. The University of Pennsylvania says it will work with the NCAA under its newly adopted standards for transgender athletes
Last month, Thomas put in an astounding performance at the Zippy Invitational Event in Akron, Ohio, where she finished the 1,650-yard freestyle 38 seconds ahead of the next closest finisher, teammate Anna Sofia Kalandaze.
Thomas's winning time was 15:59:71, with her UPenn teammate Anna Kalandaze coming second with a time of 16:37:44.
Thomas's win was a record for the Zippy Meet, and the pool where the event took place. But she also managed to smash two US women's swimming records during earlier races at the same event.
The first US record was broken on December 3, when Thomas won the 500-meter freestyle with a time of 4:34:06. She raced to victory 14 seconds ahead of Kalandaze - the swimmer she beat by 38 seconds on Sunday.
The following Saturday, she won the 200-meter freestyle in 1:41:93 - seven seconds ahead of her nearest rival, giving her the fastest female US time ever for that race too.
USA Swimming has announced it will release a new policy 'shortly' on whether elite trans athletes like Ivy League swimmer Lia Thomas can compete against biological women
Lia Thomas, circled, is pictured in a post by UPenn Swimming and Diving, captioned: 'Ladies at the beach'
Pictured: Thomas training with the team at Sailfish Splash Waterpark in Florida earlier this month
With NCAA taking little decisive action, on Thursday USA Swimming announced it will release a new policy 'shortly' on whether elite trans athletes like Ivy League swimmer Thomas can compete against biological women.
The organization, which oversees more than 360,000 members, released a statement Thursday after the NCAA Board of Governors said they will update their guidelines to follow the wishes of each sport's governing body.
'USA Swimming firmly believes in inclusivity and the opportunity for all athletes to experience the sport of swimming in a manner consistent with their gender identity and expression,' the statement read.
'We also strongly believe in competitive equity, and, like many, are doing our best to learn and educate ourselves on the appropriate balance in this space.'
Currently, trans women can compete against any other female athlete if they've undergone suppression treatment for a year. But critics say that is insufficient - as evidenced by spectacular wins such as Thomas' - and that trans athletes retain considerable advantages over female rivals because of their height and musculature.
Thomas has been blowing women's swimming records out of the water and there is even a chance she might win national championships and even compete for all-time NCAA records set by Olympic gold medalists Missy Franklin and Katie Ledecky.
None of Thomas' fellow swimmers have voiced their opinion publicly on the matter, but some have spoken out anonymously to air their concerns, saying that Thomas is arrogant, her teammates are upset - and that their coach is just obsessed with winning.
'She compares herself to Jackie Robinson. She said she is like the Jackie Robinson of trans sports,' one of Thomas' teammates told the Washington Examiner. Robinson was the first black baseball player to compete in the Major League.
Last week, Thomas, pictured, was crushed twice in a women's swim meet by another transgender competitor who is transitioning from female to male
Thomas came out as transgender in 2019 and under NCAA rules was eligible to switch from the men's team to the women's after taking a year of testosterone suppressants
'She laughs about it and mocks the situation. Instead of caring or showing that she cares about what she's doing or what she's doing to her teammates, she's not sympathetic or empathetic at all. Lia never addressed our team. She never asked if it was OK. She never asked how we felt. She never tried to explain how she feels. She never has said anything to us as a group. She never addressed anything.'
Despite setting three school records and two national records, Thomas shrugged off the furor in a recent interview, telling swimming news site SwimSwam: 'It's not healthy for me to read it and engage with it at all, and so I don't, and that's all I'll say on that.'
Her teammates have been less accepting of Thomas's post-transition feats, however. Days after the Zippy International, two swimmers complained anonymously to the media about a 'lack of fairness'.
'They're having to go behind the blocks knowing no matter what, they do not have the chance to win. I think that it's really getting to everyone,' one told OutKick.
Caitlyn Jenner has said the 'woke world' is not working for women's sports and is calling on the NCAA to adjust their transgender policy for sports
Earlier this week, Caitlyn Jenner called on the NCAA to immediately stop transgender athletes like Thomas from competing against their biological counterparts.
Jenner, 72, said Wednesday there was no doubt in her mind that the rules needed to be changed.
'All of this woke world that we are living in right now is not working,' said Jenner, who won a gold medal as Bruce in the men's decathlon at the 1976 Montreal Olympics before transitioning to female in 2015.
'I feel sorry for the other athletes that are out there, especially at Penn or anybody she's competing against, because in the woke world, you've got to say, 'Oh, my gosh, this is great,' No, it's not.'
Writing on Twitter, Jenner stated explicitly 'biological boys should not compete against biological boys.
She then went on Fox News stating: 'We need to protect women's sports, and the NCAA needs to make the right decision tomorrow, and I think that's probably to stop this right now, rethink it.'
Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps, 36, has reacted to the ongoing debate over trans college athlete Lia Thomas competing on women's swim team
Last week, champion swimmer Michael Phelps described the controversy as being 'very complicated' - before adding that sports need a 'level playing field' to be fair.
Phelps, the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals, compared the issue of athletes like Thomas to doping in order to secure a competitive advantage in the pool.
Speaking to CNN, Phelps was adamant that something needed to be done about current NCAA guidelines that allow Thomas to compete against swimmers born female - but was unable to share any specific ideas.
'I think this leads back to the organizing committees again because it has to be a level playing field. That's something that we all need. Because that's what sports are. For me, I don't know where this is going to go. I don't know what's going to happen.'
Phelps, who also holds the all-time record for Olympic gold medals at 13, said he simply wants to see a fairness across the sport.
'I believe that we all should feel comfortable with who we are in our own skin, but I think sports should all be played on an even playing field,' he said.
'I don't know what it looks like in the future. It's hard. It's very complicated and this is my sport, this has been my sport my whole entire career, and honestly the one thing I would love is everybody being able to compete on an even playing field.'
Phelps holds the all-time record for Olympic gold medals at 13. He says he simply wants to see a fairness across the sport
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