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In reply to the discussion: 16 Penn swimmers say transgender teammate Lia Thomas shouldn't be allowed to compete [View all]mahatmakanejeeves
(57,768 posts)18. Link to the article in the Washington Post:
Sports
Sixteen Penn swimmers say transgender teammate Lia Thomas should not be allowed to compete
Lia Thomas, center, is competing on the women's swimming team at the University of Pennsylvania. (Josh Reynolds/AP)
By Matt Bonesteel
Yesterday at 2:01 p.m. EST | pdated yesterday at 4:11 p.m. EST
Sixteen members of the University of Pennsylvania womens swimming team sent a letter to school and Ivy League officials Thursday asking that they not take legal action challenging the NCAAs recently updated transgender policy. That updated directive has the potential to prevent Penn swimmer Lia Thomas from competing at next months NCAA championships, and the letter indicates the 16 other swimmers believe their teammate should be sidelined.
Thomas, a transgender woman who swims for the Quakers womens team, competed for the Penn mens team for three seasons. After undergoing more than two years of hormone replacement therapy as part of her transition, she has posted the fastest times of any female college swimmer in two events this season. The letter from Thomass teammates raised the question of fairness and said she was taking competitive opportunities away from them namely spots in the Ivy League championship meet, where schools can only send about half of their rosters to compete.
We fully support Lia Thomas in her decision to affirm her gender identity and to transition from a man to a woman. Lia has every right to live her life authentically, the letter read. However, we also recognize that when it comes to sports competition, that the biology of sex is a separate issue from someones gender identity. Biologically, Lia holds an unfair advantage over competition in the womens category, as evidenced by her rankings that have bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female. If she were to be eligible to compete against us, she could now break Penn, Ivy, and NCAA Womens Swimming records; feats she could never have done as a male athlete.
{snip}
Gift Article
https://wapo.st/3HsOW8j
By Matt Bonesteel
Matt Bonesteel spent the first 17 years of his Washington Post career writing and editing. In 2014, Bonesteel pivoted from the newspaper to online and now he blogs for the Early Lead and other Web-based products owned by The Post. Twitter https://twitter.com/MattBonesteel
Sixteen Penn swimmers say transgender teammate Lia Thomas should not be allowed to compete
Lia Thomas, center, is competing on the women's swimming team at the University of Pennsylvania. (Josh Reynolds/AP)
By Matt Bonesteel
Yesterday at 2:01 p.m. EST | pdated yesterday at 4:11 p.m. EST
Sixteen members of the University of Pennsylvania womens swimming team sent a letter to school and Ivy League officials Thursday asking that they not take legal action challenging the NCAAs recently updated transgender policy. That updated directive has the potential to prevent Penn swimmer Lia Thomas from competing at next months NCAA championships, and the letter indicates the 16 other swimmers believe their teammate should be sidelined.
Thomas, a transgender woman who swims for the Quakers womens team, competed for the Penn mens team for three seasons. After undergoing more than two years of hormone replacement therapy as part of her transition, she has posted the fastest times of any female college swimmer in two events this season. The letter from Thomass teammates raised the question of fairness and said she was taking competitive opportunities away from them namely spots in the Ivy League championship meet, where schools can only send about half of their rosters to compete.
We fully support Lia Thomas in her decision to affirm her gender identity and to transition from a man to a woman. Lia has every right to live her life authentically, the letter read. However, we also recognize that when it comes to sports competition, that the biology of sex is a separate issue from someones gender identity. Biologically, Lia holds an unfair advantage over competition in the womens category, as evidenced by her rankings that have bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female. If she were to be eligible to compete against us, she could now break Penn, Ivy, and NCAA Womens Swimming records; feats she could never have done as a male athlete.
{snip}
Gift Article
https://wapo.st/3HsOW8j
By Matt Bonesteel
Matt Bonesteel spent the first 17 years of his Washington Post career writing and editing. In 2014, Bonesteel pivoted from the newspaper to online and now he blogs for the Early Lead and other Web-based products owned by The Post. Twitter https://twitter.com/MattBonesteel
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16 Penn swimmers say transgender teammate Lia Thomas shouldn't be allowed to compete [View all]
melm00se
Feb 2022
OP
I think they're right. Lia wasn't Olympic material when she was swimming as a male, .
pnwmom
Feb 2022
#2
forcing her out of the competition is just as bad as forcing her out of a women's restroom
cadoman
Feb 2022
#37
I haven't seen anything indicating that she was near the top before she began the hormones.
pnwmom
Feb 2022
#59
As long as it doesn't validate trans people only having 50% gynecology or urology care coverage next
FreepFryer
Feb 2022
#8
She went through puberty as a male, and swam as a male for the first years in college.
pnwmom
Feb 2022
#30
Should this affect any Title IX athletic scholarship she may receive?
JustABozoOnThisBus
Feb 2022
#25
Did she have the surgery to become physically a female or can she revert back to male at her conveni
keithbvadu2
Feb 2022
#29
Whether or not she had "bottom surgery," no surgery could decrease the breadth of her shoulders,
pnwmom
Feb 2022
#31
It's not a trivial issue to the women on her team, or other serious women athletes
pnwmom
Feb 2022
#40
I think whistler understands that he has no coherent answer to this problem
greenjar_01
Feb 2022
#53
There is a coherent answer. It just isn't one that checks the proper boxes.
cinematicdiversions
Feb 2022
#54
I realize that this isn't exactly on point, but there is a parallel here.
BobTheSubgenius
Feb 2022
#42
Yes, it's similar. Lia Thomas was ranked #462 when she was Will; but now she's #1,
pnwmom
Feb 2022
#46
I have wanted to see a woman player, in any sport, who was so dominant they could compete with the
robbob
Feb 2022
#63
Something else to now think about, and why I disbelieve many of you.
IngridsLittleAngel
Feb 2022
#69
Trans women are fighting for everything... And that includes fighting "our friends" on DU
IngridsLittleAngel
Feb 2022
#75
So is "If we let trans women into female restrooms, it'll be easier to sexually assault us!"
IngridsLittleAngel
Feb 2022
#77