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A group from Penn Law is speaking out in support of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who is a biological male dominating women’s swimming in the NCAA.
In an article published in The Daily Pennsylvanian, which is a Penn student publication, the group says Thomas is performing well in the pool because of “hard work” and not due to a biological competitive advantage.
“Thomas, who has been swimming since she was five years old, had an incredible season following a year-long break; she won events, broke records, and earned bids to the NCAA championships,” the column reads. “Thomas did not succeed because she is transgender; she succeeded because of the hard work she has put in throughout her long swimming career, and because she is finally able to authentically be herself and race in a sport that she loves.”
More than a dozen Penn Law groups supported the article.
The list of signatories included Penn Law for Philly, Law Students for a Democratic Society, Penn Law Lambda, Trans Empowerment @ Advocacy Project, If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, American Constitution Society, International Human Rights Advocates, Penn Law National Lawyers Guild, University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Social Change, Civil Rights Law Project, Penn Law Boxing Club, Toll Scholar Classes 2022, 2023 and 2024, Latinx Law Students Association, Disabled & Allied Students Association and Penn Law Women’s Association.
This support for Thomas is coming in stark contrast to others who have spoken in opposition to the NCAA’s current policy for transgender athletes.
Parents and other competitors have spoken out in frustration about the unfairness of the whole situation. This has fallen on deaf ears in the NCAA and the Ivy League, which have not made any changes to their policy.
Lia Thomas will compete at the Ivy League championships and has already qualified for the NCAA championships in March.
Critics argue that Lia possesses an obvious unfair advantage over female competitors as a result of going through male puberty.
Even though Lia has undergone “testosterone suppression” for one year prior to joining the women’s team, this does not reverse the impact of nearly 20 years of presumably normal male testosterone levels.
The NCAA’s policy fails to address this problem.
Even nationally televised cardiothoracic surgeon and university professor Dr. Oz has spoken out about the issue.
Michael Phelps, who is the decorated Olympian of all time, expressed concerns about transgender swimmers competing against athletes with a different biological gender.
The female teammates of Lia have also spoken out in anger about the unfairness of the situation.
The female swimmer asked to remain anonymous for fear of liberals attacking her and destroying her life. “Pretty much everyone individually has spoken to our coaches about not liking this,” the teammate said.
“Our coach just really likes winning. He’s like most coaches. I think secretly everyone just knows it’s the wrong thing to do,” the teammate told Outkick. The teammate said public support for Thomas is “very fake.”
If anyone voices dissent, they will be bombarded by the left-wing attack machine and those aggressively working to push the transgender agenda.
The Ivy League and the NCAA have adopted the same policy on the issue, which they claim enhances inclusivity and does not negatively impact women’s sports.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Lia Thomas almost approached the all-time NCAA record for women held by Olympian Missy Franklin. Franklin finished the event in 1:39.10 in 2015 while Lia finished in 1:48.73.
Fox News reports that one parent of UPenn spoke out in shock over the situation by saying,”I wasn’t prepared for that. Everything is messed up.”
“I can’t wrap my head around this,” the parent continued. “The NCAA needs to do something about this. They need to put science into the decision and discussion.”
