Lia Thomas, a panelist opposing Iowa’s law banning the inclusion of women’s sports
Lia Thomas, the transgender NCAA swimmer who caused controversy in the sport by competing and winning women’s races in the 2021-22 season, has spoken out against Iowa’s law banning transgender athletes from women’s and girls’ sports.
Thomas spoke at the Trans Athletes and Future of Sports event at Iowa State University earlier this month. Dr. Kelly Winfrey, associate professor of women’s studies at the school, hosted the event, with Dr. Christina Roberts, professor of pediatrics specializing in youth health, joined One Iowa Director of Policy and Advocacy Keenan Crow for 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 speech focused on Iowa’s ban on women’s sports, according to the Iowa State Daily. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law in March 2022. Several other states have since passed their own laws against women’s sports coverage.
“As it’s banned here in Iowa … the state is actively telling trans kids, ‘You don’t deserve to participate. You’re basically being excluded,'” the former UPenn swimmer said at the Nov. 13 event.
Thomas emphasized the importance of participating in sports which adds to the daily life of the former swimmer.
“I had a team, a team I could relate to… it gave me that,” Thomas said. “Athletics, for me, water, was just a place of peace where I could leave my worries outside.”
Crow said the ban on transgender inclusion in sports banned transgender women and girls from sports for the positivity it can provide.
“Excluding trans athletes from sports deprives them of the opportunity to participate in a part of life that teaches resilience, cooperation and community…it is important to be in a group and be included, especially for young people who may be struggling to find acceptance,” said the crow.
Roberts downplayed trans athletes benefiting from women’s sports after male puberty – pointing to a study that allegedly showed hormone therapy lowered testosterone levels in female athletes over two years.
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, left, and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing tied for 5th in the 200 freestyle final at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in -Atlanta. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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This discussion did not seem to address the concerns of female athletes who have felt competing against a transgender woman.
Paula Scanlan, who worked with Thomas at UPenn, told a House Judiciary subcommittee last year that Thomas’s presence in the locker room caused a lot of trouble for her as a survivor of sexual assault.
“This is true. I know women who have lost freckles and blemishes on stage. I know women who have been sexually assaulted by having natural men in their dressing room without their consent. I know this because I am one of these women,” said Scanlan.
“I was sexually assaulted on June 3, 2016. I was only 16 years old. I was able to forgive my attacker but violence against women still exists. Let’s not forget the #MeToo movement that gave women victims the power to speak out. It exposes the increase in harassment and sexual harassment, including in educational and educational institutions.”
Riley Gaines has been fighting to keep women’s sports fair since her participation against Thomas in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Paula Scanlan, left, and Riley Gaines attend the DailyWire+ Red Carpet Premiere of “Lady Ballers” on Nov. 29, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Davis/Getty Images for Bentkey Ventures)
She spoke to Georgia lawmakers at the Special Committee on Women’s Sports Protection in August. As the former Kentucky swimming star read his letter to Georgia Tech President Dr. Angel Cabrera, Gaines became upset when he talked about the “sexual harassment” he experienced.
“We didn’t allow ourselves to be bullied and exposed by a 6-foot-4 man who is fully naked,” he said. “Because you did nothing, that man entered the women’s locker room at your university and saw me undressing naked.
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“You allowed college women to suffer and be abused on your campus like this. Why didn’t you protect us?”
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