‘COMPETITIVE OPPORTUNITIES’

Anonymous Penn Swimmers Pen Letter Saying Trans Teammate Has Unfair Advantage

Just days earlier, other members of the swim team penned a signed letter supporting Lia Thomas, who has broken multiple school records.

Anonymous members of the University of Pennsylvania women’s swimming team penned a letter to their school and Ivy League athletics officials Friday saying their trans teammate enjoyed an unfair advantage over cisgender women. The sixteen women did not sign the letter decrying Lia Thomas’ participation in championship meets, saying only that she had taken “competitive opportunities” from them. The athletes asked their school not to sue the NCAA if it bars Thomas from swimming in the upcoming competitions. They also wrote that they “have been told that if we spoke out against her inclusion into women’s competitions, that we would be removed from the team or that we would never get a job offer.” Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a former Olympic swimmer and CEO of Champion Women, delivered the letter to the school on behalf of the college athletes. Thomas, who swam with the Penn men’s team for three years before undergoing hormone therapy for over two years, has broken multiple NCAA records this season and qualified for NCAA championship meets.