NCAA Clears Lia Thomas To Compete At National Championships
Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has been cleared by the NCAA to compete at the 2022 Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, and unless there is some sort of Title IX court injunction, Thomas will be the odds-on-favorite to leave Atlanta with two national championships.
According to Swimming World, the NCAA announced Thursday that there will be no changes to its previous testosterone policy of 10 nmol/L. USA Swimming recently adopted a new policy that will require testosterone levels less than 5 nmol/L continuous for a 36-month period.
As was the case with the Ivy League grandfathering Thomas into its upcoming conference championships, the NCAA is in effect saying the same thing.
“The subcommittee decided implementing additional changes at this time could have unfair and potentially detrimental impacts on schools and student-athletes intending to compete in 2022 NCAA women’s swimming championships,” the NCAA announced in a press release.
In a letter to the NCAA released Thursday by Athlete Ally and signed by 300 male and female swimmers and divers, the organization spoke out in support of Thomas.
"With this letter, we express our support for Lia Thomas, and all transgender college athletes,
who deserve to be able to participate in safe and welcoming athletic environments. We urge you
to not allow political pressure to compromise the safety and wellbeing of college athletes
everywhere," the athletes write in their letter to NCAA officials.
"We ask the following: 1) do not adopt USA Swimming’s current policy mid-season; 2)
establish clear and consistent guidelines for developing and adopting new eligibility
policies, and ensure those policies are adopted and communicated well in advance of the
season; and 3) ensure that transgender and nonbinary athletes are directly engaged in
the policy development process.
"We love swimming for the lifelong, invaluable lessons it has taught us about hard work,
discipline, and the power of being part of a team. No one should be denied the opportunity to
have their life changed through swimming simply because of who they are."
What does Thomas' inclusion in Atlanta mean for biological females in the 200 and 500 freestyle? It means they'll face Thomas, who has the nation's fastest 200 (1:41:93) and 500 (4:34:06) times.
In Feburary, Roger Brooks, who serves as senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom in Title IX cases, told OutKick that the NCAA has been all about a “duck and cover in response to the Lia Thomas outcry.”
Brooks believes universities and the NCAA will ultimately pay in the courts over their decision to have Thomas compete against biological females.
“I do think colleges like the University of Pennsylvania that are letting this happen are violating Title IX and they should be held accountable and I do think there are good arguments that the NCAA itself is essentially an agent of its member colleges and is violating Title IX,” Brooks noted. “The law is not being complied with and we hope that in due course we’ll be able to correct that.”
Where does this all end long after Thomas has competed at the NCAA Championships? Brooks told OutKick in February this battle between transgender athletes and biological females could be headed for the Supreme Court.
“I think the answer to that is ‘yes,’” he said, adding that the court cases are mounting and it’s likely there will be more cases to come. “The law is not fast but within the next couple of years we’ll see a case about this issue in front of the Supreme Court.”
While those possible court cases are a long way off, all eyes will be on Atlanta March 16-19 where national record times from Missy Franklin (1:39:10 in the 200 free) and Katie Ledecky (4:24:06 in the 500 free) could find themselves being bumped out of the record books by a biological male.