ESPN Honors Trans-Swimmer Lia Thomas For Women’s History Month
ESPN has faced significant backlash following a segment the sports channel aired celebrating transgender swimmer Lia Thomas for Women’s History Month.
Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate exceptional female accomplishments and women who have made significant contributions to various fields. Several noteworthy women in the sporting world could have easily been highlighted for their successes; however, ESPN chose to use air time to celebrate a man’s “achievements” instead.
Thomas competed on the men’s swim team at the University of Pennsylvania for three years and had little to show for it. The swimmer, formerly known as Will Thomas, ranked 554th in the 200 freestyle, 65th in the 500 freestyle, and 32nd in the 1650 freestyle when competing on the men’s team.
Following his “transition” however, the new and improved Lia Thomas unsurprisingly became the star of the women’s team, shattering multiple school records, winning the Ivy League Championships, and an NCAA title. Thomas became an inspiration to the LGBTQ+ community. His female teammates, however, did not feel as though this was their victory too. These women were shorted by the school to which they gave their collegiate careers. Their aspirations of becoming nationally recognized in their sport, or receiving sponsorships to begin a professional swimming career, were immediately crushed the minute the university allowed a biological man to compete against females.
Despite the obvious physical advantages Thomas possessed, he maintained that his inclusion on the women’s team, and in the women’s locker room, was necessary. During the ESPN special, Thomas explained, “I didn’t have any other choice, not transitioning was not getting me anywhere.” It’s assumed by most that he was referring to his mental health. However, it’s also true that on the men’s team, he was rather lackluster, and wasn’t going anywhere in his swimming career. But now, as a “female,” Thomas has risen to stardom, and he is even given primetime slots on ESPN.
ESPN’s recognition of Thomas is a significant step backward. Acknowledging and celebrating the accomplishments of transgender athletes places female sports on the path toward extinction. Allowing males to compete against females in the name of inclusion will destroy women’s chances at competing on a level playing field.
Undeniably, Thomas has benefited from “inclusion” policies in women’s sports though. He will never admit that there was ever an advantage he possessed over his teammates. In fact, he recently made a statement regarding the new World Athletics restrictions on transgender competitors and attempted to make the claim that excluding males from female sports would be “detrimental” to women’s sports.
“Transgender women are women,” Thomas said, “Intersex women are women.”
Approximately 0.018% of the population is clinically defined as intersex. Many transgender activists try to inflate this number while framing intersex as another identity, rather than what it is — a health condition. They believe that the existence of rare exceptions to the rigid rules of biology somehow proves their irrational view that human beings can truly be “gender fluid.”
The mainstream culture will celebrate Thomas’ “success” and say that it is a testament to his hard work and determination. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Anyone who needs to compete against women, while still possessing all of the physical characteristics of a man, to get ahead is simply shameful.
