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Lia Thomas, a transgender NCAA champion swimmer who caused controversy in the sport for competing against and winning races over women during the 2021-22 season, railed against an Iowa law that prohibited trans athletes in women’s and girls’ sports.
Thomas spoke at the Trans Athletes and the Future of Sports event at Iowa State University earlier this month. Dr. Kelly Winfrey, an associate professor in women gender studies at the school, moderated the event, and Dr. Christina Roberts, a pediatrics professor specializing in adolescent health, joined One Iowa Policy and Advocacy Director Keenan Crow at the event.
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Penn Quakers swimmer Lia Thomas finishes eighth in the 100 free at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships at Georgia Tech in Atlanta on March 19, 2022. (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
Their talk dove into Iowa’s ban on trans inclusion in female sports, according to the Iowa State Daily. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law in March 2022. Several others states have since enacted their own laws against trans inclusion in women’s sports as well.
"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 former UPenn swimmer said at the Nov. 13 event.
Thomas underscored the value that participating in sports added to the former swimmer’s everyday life.
"I had a team, a group I could identify with… it gave me that belonging," Thomas said. "Athletics and, for me, the water, was just … a place of peace where I could leave my worries outside."
Crow said the ban on trans inclusion in sports barred transgender women and girls from the positivity sports can provide.
"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," Crow said.
Roberts downplayed trans athletes having an advantage in women's sports after going through male puberty – pointing to studies that allegedly showed hormone therapy treatments lowering testosterone levels of female athletes in two years.
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, left, and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The discussion did not appear to address the anguish female athletes have felt competing with a transgender woman.
Paula Scanlan, who was Thomas’ teammate at UPenn, told the House Judiciary subcommittee last year that Thomas’ presence in the locker room created a bigger issue for her as a survivor of 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."
Riley Gaines has been fighting to keep women’s sports fair since her involvement against Thomas in the 2022 NCAA Championships.
Paula Scanlan, left, and Riley Gaines attend the DailyWire+ Red Carpet Premiere of "Lady Ballers" on Nov. 29, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Davis/Getty Images for Bentkey Ventures)
She addressed Georgia state lawmakers on the Special Committee on Protecting Women’s Sports in August. As the former Kentucky swim star read her letter addressed to Georgia Tech President Dr. Angel Cabrera, Gaines began to get emotional as she talked about the "sexual harassment" she experienced.
"We did not give our consent to be exploited and exposed to a 6-foot-4 fully naked man," she said. "Because you did nothing, that man walked into our women’s locker room at your university and saw me undress down to full nudity.
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"You allowed college women to be traumatized and violated on your campus in this way. Why didn’t you protect us?"
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