OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.
Lia Thomas has been nominated for the NCAA “Woman of the Year,” which is causing significant controversy.
Lia, formerly William, is a biological male who switched from the men’s swimming team at the University of Pennsylvania after three years to compete in the women’s division.
Thomas went on to win a national championship by defeating every female in NCAA 500-yard freestyle swimming event.
Riley Gaines, a former star for the University of Kentucky, tied with Lia Thomas for fifth place at the NCAA championships.
Gaines says a majority of females disagree with Thomas’ participation in female sports. “The majority of us female athletes, or females in general, really, are not okay with this, and they’re not okay with the trajectory of this and how this is going and how it could end up in a few years,” Gaines said.
Gaines says this nomination makes the NCAA’s highest award in collegiate athletics “worthless.”
“Being the real girl in that photo and also University of Kentucky’s nominee for NCAA WOTY, this is yet another slap in the face to women. First a female national title and now nominated for the pinnacle award in collegiate athletics,” Gaines said. “The @NCAA has made this award worthless.”
“This award combines athletic performance with academics, service, and character. What character has Thomas shown other than sheer selfishness and entitlement? The disrespect and disregard for the other female athletes in Thomas’ interviews is eye opening.”
This award combines athletic performance with academics, service, and character. What character has Thomas shown other than sheer selfishness and entitlement? The disrespect and disregard for the other female athletes in Thomas' interviews is eye opening.
— Riley Gaines (@RileyGaines) July 16, 2022
The award was established in 1991 to “recognizes female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers.”
According to an announcement from the NCAA, the University of Pennsylvania nominated the transgender athlete for the award, which recognizes female student-athletes.
Critics argue that Lia Thomas 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, as the NCAA policy requires, 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.
Thomas swam for three years as a male at Penn before changing gender identity. Thomas still has male genital and uses the women’s locker room, according to teammates who have spoken out in frustration over the situation.
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.
“This award recognizes not only athletic performance but also academics, service and character, so to be thought of as someone who embodies all of those things is extremely humbling,” Gaines said. “I’m aware I was up against a department full of amazing female student-athletes, so I’m very grateful and always proud to be a Wildcat. I have so much love for UK and Big Blue Nation.”
From Fox News:
Each NCAA member school nominates a Woman of the Year. Each conference then reviews the nominations from its member schools and submits its conference nominee to the NCAA. Nominees who compete in sports not sponsored by their school’s main conference and independent nominees will be sent to a separate pool of nominations and considered by a committee.
The organization then identifies the top 30 and, from there, selects three finalists from each pool. From the nine finalists, the NCAA will choose a winner.
The nomination of Thomas comes after FINA, the governing body for international swimming, voted to approve new polices for transgender swimmers.
