The mother of one of the girls who competed against Will ‘Lia’ Thomas is finally speaking up. She warns that if something is not done to protect women’s sports, there will never be another woman to break records. She explained that the parents all thought that the universities would realize that allowing Lia Thomas to compete against the girls was unfair.
She also explained that they were all told they were not allowed to talk about their concerns. Adding that they’re also terrified of losing friends and being labeled ‘transphobic’ while they watch their children’s dreams crushed as Thomas breaks more records and takes away opportunities they’ve trained their whole lives to obtain.
“Holy cow, we’re going to talk about a male swimmer — a full-grown male — attempting to take down female icon records, and taking a spot on an Ivy team from one of the Penn swimmers, who have rightfully deserved it,” she told Independent Women’s Forum, according to the Post Millennial. “And we’re talking about, this person’s gonna swim on every relay going forward at championship meets, is going to take the position of a woman on a travel team, is going to take a space in every finals.”
Girls are “frightened” to speak out about the inequality after they were warned to keep their mouths shut, the mother explained.
“And they’re frightened,” the woman said, her voice shaking with emotion. “They’re frightened of losing friends. They’re frightened of being kicked off their teams. They’re frightened of being told by their universities that they’re transphobic and hateful.”
Independent Women’s Forum identified the woman as “Margaret,” captioning the video: “Margaret’s* daughter is a swimmer in the Ivy League who’s been forced to compete all season against XY athlete Will ‘Lia’ Thomas. Thomas — who competed for three years on the University of Pennsylvania Men’s Swim Team — has dominated women’s collegiate swimming competitions this season and broken numerous female legacy records.”
“The NCAA, USA Swimming, the Ivy League, and University of Pennsylvania have all turned their backs on female athletes,” the group said. “When biological males are allowed to swim on women’s teams, female athletes lose. They lose opportunities to win and to compete. And… they lose self-confidence. Dividing athletes by biological sex gives women the chance to compete and win.”
She explained that she is just a mother wanting to see her daughter given a fair chance to succeed.
“I don’t want my daughter to have any repercussions based upon my desire to speak out for sex-based rights and representation for women,” she said. “She deserves to have a college experience unmarred by this issue, and she deserves to have the time and ability to process what’s going on with her in her own way.”
“At the end of the day, I hope that the IOC, the NCAA, and governing bodies of sport all recognize that women are women,” the woman closed. “We can’t shrug off our sex. Men are men, they can’t shrug off their sex, and women’s sports is protected for females.”
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I’ve been called things like ‘turf’ for my own opinions on this particular case but I have to agree with the mom. Women have fought for their right to have their own league in sports and compete. All their efforts, training, and discipline, have to account for something.
Erica Carlin is an independent journalist, opinion writer and contributor to several news and opinion sources. She is based in Georgia.
