On Thursday, Sports Illustrated published a long retrospective of the highly controversial University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas portraying the swimmer as an embattled hero who insists, “I am here to swim.”
In its long article, the magazine correctly notes that Thomas is “controversial” for obliterating a dozen swimming records set by natural-born female swimmers. Born male, Thomas has undergone hormone replacement therapy (HRT) but has not engaged in any surgical measures to “transition.” And Thomas swam on the men’s team for several years at the university before announcing a change of gender.
SI soft sells Thomas’ career as a male swimmer by saying he had “come close to hitting NCAA championship–qualifying times in men’s distance races.” Still, the article never dwells on the fact that, on the men’s team, Thomas’ career was far less remarkable than what he achieved on the women’s team.
The magazine takes pains to impress on the reader that Thomas feels less powerful as a “woman” and that his stamina and strength are diminished with the HRT treatments. However, the magazine also lists more than half a dozen records set by women that Thomas has shattered. Clearly, the lost strength and speed Thomas suffered from HRT still leaves him with far more power and speed than opponents.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – FEBRUARY 19: University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas (C) poses on the podium after winning the 100-yard freestyle. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
SI described Thomas as, “The shy senior economics major from Austin became one of the most dominant college athletes in the country and, as a result, the center of a national debate—a living, breathing, real-time Rorschach test for how society views those who challenge conventions.”
But if reports that Thomas has bragged about how much faster he is than his female opponents are true, “shy” does not seem accurate.
The magazine portrays Thomas as a hero standing up for “transgender kids throughout the piece.”
The article quoted Thomas saying, “I just want to show trans kids and younger trans athletes that they’re not alone. They don’t have to choose between who they are and the sport they love.”
The women finish third at the @IvyLeague Championships! Our highest finish in program history!
https://t.co/m3RxAap3RB#FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/HFSYQTehJ8
— Penn Swimming & Diving (@PennSwimDive) February 20, 2022
The article also ridicules parents of other UPenn swimmers who support Thomas’s desires to “transition” but feel his participation on the women’s swim team is unfair to natural-born female athletes.
After recounting the argument against the hulking swimmer who is physically larger than the rest of the UPenn female swimmers, SI goes on to add:
“It’s mean,” one Penn parent who identifies as a progressive but opposes Thomas’s eligibility says of the online and media bigotry directed at her. “Lia is a human being who deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. But it’s not transphobic to say I disagree with where she’s swimming.”
That argument is disingenuous to Thomas. There is no such thing as half-support: Either you back her fully as a woman or you don’t. “The very simple answer is that I’m not a man,” she says. “I’m a woman, so I belong on the women’s team. Trans people deserve that same respect every other athlete gets.”
Thomas told the magazine that the future is unclear, but swimming on Team USA for the 2024 Olympics is possible. Unsurprisingly, USA Swimming officials told the magazine to welcome Thomas with open arms.
Thomas will finish the season as the most controversial swimmer in college women’s sports. Many teammates oppose Thomas’ inclusion on the team. But there are also notable people outside the school who oppose Thomas’ record-breaking season.
Notable opponents of the swimmer include Nancy Hogshead-Makar, an Olympic gold medalist who heads Champion Women, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, and Rice head swimming coach Seth Huston.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston
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