The case of Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer, has raised concerns among her former teammates, who expressed discomfort at having to undress next to her “18 times a week” during their training sessions. Here’s the full story.
They Had to Undress in Front of a Man
Addressing the House Judiciary Committee, Paula Scanlan, a former teammate of Lia Thomas and an NCAA Division I swimmer, shared her experiences and those of her teammates.
Scanlan revealed that they were required to undress in the presence of Thomas, a 6-foot-4 tall, biological male with fully intact male genitalia, on a regular basis.
This situation made some girls opt to change in bathroom stalls or use the family bathroom to avoid discomfort.
When the teammates raised their concerns with the university, they were met with an unsatisfactory response.
The University’s Response, “Become Comfortable With the Idea of Undressing in Front of a Male”
The university offered them counseling to “reeducate” and become “comfortable with the idea of undressing in front of a male.”
Scanlan expressed her disappointment, stating that the university essentially labeled them as the problem rather than addressing the discomfort they experienced.
She said, “We were expected to conform, to move over and shut up. Our feelings didn’t matter. The university was gaslighting and fear-mongering women to validate the feelings and identity of a male.”
Lia Thomas, who formerly competed on the men’s swimming team, underwent the transitioning process in 2019 and joined the women’s team in 2021.
“Transphobic, Bigoted, and Hateful”
Her rankings significantly improved when competing on the women’s team, leading to her becoming the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming title at the Ivy League Penn and being nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award in 2022.
Scanlan pointed out that Thomas had personal best times in every freestyle event that were faster than the women’s world records.
She added, “Today, any discussion maintaining the sanctity of women’s spaces is labeled transphobic, bigoted, and hateful.”
Riley Gaines, another swimmer, expressed her opinion to Fox News that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) should consider creating separate locker rooms for transgender athletes.
“We Were Exposed To Male Genitalia”
Gaines, a 12-time All-American, and five-time SEC champion, recounted her discomfort at being exposed to Thomas’s male genitalia after a meet.
She said, “We did not give our consent, they did not ask for our consent, but in that locker room we turned around, and there’s a 6 ‘4″ biological man dropping his pants and watching us undress, and we were exposed to male genitalia.”
She added: “Not even probably a year, two years ago, this would have been considered some form of sexual assault, voyeurism.”
Several social media users shared their views on the incident.
“An Absolute Disgrace. This Madness Has to End”
One Twitter user wrote, “An absolute disgrace. This madness has to end.”
Another user added, “The only way I can see to make this stop is for women (AKA human adult female) to boycott every competition, every training day until this madness stops.”
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The post Trans Swimmer’s Case Raises Questions About Gender Identity and Women’s Sports, “Become Comfortable With the Idea of Undressing in Front of a Male” first appeared on The Net Worth Of.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Dean Drobot. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: GB News