Is it finally possible to stop believing that trans women have an inherent advantage in competitive sports over biologically-born females?
Sixteen members of the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s swimming team wrote a letter asking the school and the Ivy League not to challenge the NCAA rules that allow transgender athletes to participate. Their trans teammate Lia Thomas would not be able to compete as a woman under the new rules.
Thomas should be sidelined by the 16 swimmers, out of 39 in the team.
Thomas’s teammates did not identify themselves in this letter. Nancy Hogshead-Makar, an Olympic swimmer gold medalist in 1984, was the writer and chief executive officer of Champion Women, a women’s advocacy organization. In a telephone interview, she stated that she sent the letter to the swimmers on their behalf in order to avoid retaliation. The letter claims that the swimmers were told that they would be “removed from the team” or that they would not receive a job offer if they opposed Thomas’s inclusion in the women’s competition.
Officials at Penn did not respond to a request to comment on the claims made in the letter. They also didn’t say whether Penn planned to file a legal challenge if Thomas is ruled ineligible to compete in the NCAA championships.
Trans activists and advocates are retaliatory in their actions. They and their school administrators’ allies have no choice but to lash out at people for speaking out.
Recognize that transgender people need to be treated with compassion, even if their most vocal supporters want to destroy the lives of those they oppose.
A statement was released Tuesday by another group of Penn swimmers supporting Thomas. It was made after an unidentified Quaker swimmer spoke to Fox News and claimed that Thomas had a “monumental advantage” over her teammates due to her experience with male puberty.
In Tuesday’s statement, per ESPN, the athletes stated that they wanted to support Lia during her transition. We value her as a friend, colleague, and person. An anonymous Penn member expressed her feelings but they are not representative of the thoughts, values, and opinions of the Penn team of 39 women from diverse backgrounds.
It is important to note that Thomas was not allowed to compete in the letter supporting the transgender swimmer.
The 16 swimmers who asked the school and Ivy League to not take legal action stated basically the same thing in their letter regarding Thomas’s transition.
One parent, who did not wish to be identified out of fear of retaliation for their daughter, said that Thomas received a letter of support from only two or three people.
Most trans athletes will be barred from participating in NCAA’s new trans eligibility criteria.
A panel of three independent medical experts will decide whether a transgender swimmer is eligible to compete at the elite level. A swimmer must also show that her blood testosterone concentration has been below 5 nanomoles per Liter for at least 36 consecutive months.
These new guidelines will almost certainly face legal challenges. The actions of the University of Pennsylvania swimmers have given a tremendous boost to the fight against transgenderism in women’s sports. This may be a source of inspiration for other female athletes looking to challenge radical orthodoxy in their schools.
