Lia Thomas' Teammate Blasts PENN, Claims Women's Objections Were Silenced

A teammate of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas is speaking out against the University of Pennsylvania, claiming the school was more concerned with swim meet wins and attention than the feelings of those women swimming with and against Thomas.

"If you even bring up the fact that Lia swimming might not be fair, you are immediately shut down as being called a hateful person, or transphobic," a Thomas teammate, who wished to remain anonymous, told author Matt Walsh.

The comments from Thomas' teammate were aired in a trailer for Walsh's new film "What Is A Woman," premiering Wednesday evening.

Walsh's portion of the film was released, just hours after Thomas appeared on “Good Morning America” / ESPN. As previously detailed by OutKick, Thomas insisted she did not transition to win medals and stated: "We transition to be happy and authentic and our true selves. Transitioning to get an advantage is not something that ever factors into our decisions.”

Teammates of Thomas' don't necessarily agree. They've noticed an obvious advantage. "Lia obviously helps us do better. Lia's swimming really fast," said her anonymous teammate. "Lia's performance helps the University of Pennsylvania swim team.

"The feeling of winning doesn't feel as good anymore because it feels tainted."

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 17: University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas on the deck at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Despite having thoughts and questions surrounding the team rostering a swimmer who was born a male and gives the squad a clear advantage, the remaining PENN swimmers have been silenced. “There’s a lot of things you couldn’t talk about that were very concerning, like a locker room situation,” Walsh was told by Thomas' teammate. "If you even brought up concerns about it you were transphobic."

When Walsh asked if the University of Pennsylvania ever sat the swimmers down to acknowledge their emotions, the interviewee said an LGBTQ representative spoke to the team, along with someone from the school's psychological services department.

Those meetings however, appeared to be one-sided. “They said, ‘Look, we understand there’s an array of emotions, but Lia’s swimming is a non-negotiable. However we can help you make that OK, that’s what we’re here for,'” Thomas' teammate added.

You'd think the Ivy League school would listen to it's emotionally-affected athletes, but then again, maybe the administration has swimmer's ear.

 

Follow along on Twitter: @OhioAF