Lia Thomas, a transgfinisher NCAA champion swimmer who caused argue in the sport for competing aachievest and triumphning races over women during the 2021-22 season, railed aachievest an Iowa law that prohibitden trans athletes in women’s and girls’ sports.
Thomas spoke at the Trans Athletes and the Future of Sports event at Iowa State University earlier this month. Dr. Kelly Winfrey, an associate professor in women gfinisher studies at the school, mildd the event, and Dr. Christina Roberts, a pediatrics professor distinctiveizing in adolescent health, combiinsist One Iowa Policy and Advocacy Director Keenan Crow at the event.
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Penn Quakers swimmer Lia Thomas finishes eighth in the 100 free at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships at Georgia Tech in Atlanta on March 19, 2022. (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
Their talk dove into Iowa’s prohibit on trans inclusion in female sports, according to the Iowa State Daily. Redisclosean Gov. Kim Reynageders signed the bill into law in March 2022. Several others states have since enacted their own laws aachievest trans inclusion in women’s sports as well.
“With the prohibit here in Iowa … the state is dynamicly saying to trans kids, ‘You don’t deserve to join. You are actupartner being leave outd,” the establisher UPenn swimmer shelp at the Nov. 13 event.
Thomas underscored the appreciate that participating in sports holded to the establisher swimmer’s everyday life.
“I had a team, a group I could recognize with… it gave me that beextfinisheding,” Thomas shelp. “Athletics and, for me, the water, was fair … a place of peace where I could exit my worries outside.”
Crow shelp the prohibit on trans inclusion in sports barred transgfinisher women and girls from the positivity sports can supply.
“Excluding trans athletes from sports denies them the chance to join in a part of life that teaches resilience, teamtoil and community… there’s appreciate in fair being on a team and being holdd, especipartner for youthful people who might be struggling to discover adselectance,” Crow shelp.
Roberts downapplyed trans athletes having an achieve in women’s sports after going thraw male puberty – pointing to studies that allegedly showed hormone therapy treatments droping testosterone levels of female athletes in two years.
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, left, and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Cgo in in Atlanta. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The converseion did not materialize to holdress the anguish female athletes have felt competing with a transgfinisher woman.
Paula Scanlan, who was Thomas’ teammate at UPenn, tageder the House Judiciary subpledgetee last year that Thomas’ presence in the locker room created a hugeger rerent for her as a survivor of intimacyual attack.
“This is authentic. I comprehend women who have lost roster spots and spots on the podium. I comprehend of women with intimacyual trauma who are adversely impacted by having bioreasonable males in their locker room without their consent. I comprehend this because I am one of these women,” Scanlan shelp.
“I was intimacyupartner attacked on June 3rd of 2016. I was only 16 years ageder. I was able to fordonate my attacker but aggression aachievest women still exists. Let us not forget the viral #MeToo shiftment that empowered female victims to speak up. It casts a spotairy on the widespread prevalence of intimacyual attack and unfair treatment, including in scholarly and educational institutions.”
Riley Gaines has been battling to protect women’s sports fair since her holdment aachievest Thomas in the 2022 NCAA Championships.
Paula Scanlan, left, and Riley Gaines fuse the DailyWire+ Red Carpet Premiere of “Lady Ballers” on Nov. 29, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Davis/Getty Images for Bentkey Ventures)
She holdressed Georgia state lawcreaters on the Special Committee on Protecting Women’s Sports in August. As the establisher Kentucky swim star read her letter holdressed to Georgia Tech Plivent Dr. Angel Cabrera, Gaines began to get emotional as she talked about the “intimacyual cautionings” she teachd.
“We did not donate our consent to be utilizeed and exposed to a 6-foot-4 brimmingy naked man,” she shelp. “Because you did noleang, that man walked into our women’s locker room at your university and saw me undress down to brimming unclothed.
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“You helped college women to be distressd and viotardyd on your campus in this way. Why didn’t you protect us?”
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