Infamous transgender college swimmer Lia Thomas went on the attack recently against the state of Iowa’s ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports and falsely claimed it is telling trans kids they “don’t deserve to participate” in sports.
Thomas was asked to participate in a panel discussion this month at the Trans Athletes and the Future of Sports event at Iowa State University to discuss the law signed in 2022 by GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds, Fox News reported.
The former college swimmer, who earned an unremarkable record in men’s college swimming when he first went off to college, was scrutinized for joining the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s swim team after “transitioning” and suddenly jumping into the top tier of swimmers.
During his appearance on the panel, Thomas railed against Iowa’s law and falsely claimed it excludes transgender kids from sports.
“With the ban here in Iowa … the state is actively saying to trans kids, ‘You don’t deserve to participate. You are actually being excluded,” the controversial former athlete said.
His claim, though, is not true. The law does not ban transgender children from sports. It only bans males who identify as females from playing in girls’ sports. These trans kids have every right to play on teams that correspond to their birth gender.
Thomas added that sports are vital to a child’s education and development.
“I had a team, a group I could identify with… it gave me that belonging,” Thomas said during his comments on the panel. “Athletics and, for me, the water was just … a place of peace where I could leave my worries outside.
Activist and One Iowa Policy and Advocacy Director Keenan Crow agreed with Thomas but also plied the false accusation that trans kids are banned from sports in Iowa.
“Excluding trans athletes from sports denies them the chance to participate in a part of life that teaches resilience, teamwork, and community… there’s value in just being on a team and being included, especially for young people who might be struggling to find acceptance,” exclaimed Crow.
The panel members also flatly denied that male-born athletes have a physical advantage over women in sports.
But many women are finally waking up to the fact that transism in sports is being forced upon them without their consent.
Former swimmer Paula Scanlan, who was on the same UPenn swim team as Thomas, noted that forcing women to be confronted by nude men in sports locker rooms is a major issue for women who have survived sexual assault.
“This is real. I know women who have lost roster spots and spots on the podium. I know of women with sexual trauma who are adversely impacted by having biological males in their locker room without their consent. I know this because I am one of these women,” Scanlan said.
“I was sexually assaulted on June 3rd of 2016. I was only 16 years old. I was able to forgive my attacker, but violence against women still exists. Let us not forget the viral #MeToo movement that empowered female victims to speak up. It casts a spotlight on the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and abuse, including in scholarly and educational institutions.”
Still, many women are finally starting to fight back. In the last few months, high schools and college teams have risen up to oppose transgender athletes invading their teams, their sport, and their spaces.
Just this month, for instance, a girl’s volleyball team at a Christian school in Merced, California, recently forfeited a game because they did not wish to compete against a trans player.
The women on several college teams are also speaking out. This year, a lawsuit was filed against San Jose State University (SJSU) and the Mountain West Conference for allowing a male to play on the SJSU women’s volleyball team.
In addition, five colleges have refused to play against SJSU over the school’s inclusion of transgender player Blair Fleming.
The NCAA is also being sued by several groups over its policy of allowing transgender players to play as women.
Even the Olympics is facing internal debate over transgenders in women’s sports as a new candidate for president of the International Olympic Committee is campaigning for the job with a promise to ban men from women’s sports.
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