A direct threat to female athletes

Some parents of Penn swimmers have written a letter.

Parents of the University of Pennsylvania women’s swim team are demanding the NCAA change rules that have permitted transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to dominate the competition, declaring ‘at stake here is the integrity of women’s sports,’ DailyMail.com has learned.

The parents of about 10 swimmers sent a letter last week to the NCAA and forwarded it to the Ivy League and University of Pennsylvania officials.’

At stake here is the integrity of women’s sports,’ they wrote in the letter obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com. ‘The precedent being set – one in which women do not have a protected and equitable space to compete – is a direct threat to female athletes in every sport. What are the boundaries? How is this in line with the NCAA’s commitment to providing a fair environment for student-athletes?

‘It is the responsibility of the NCAA to address the matter with an official statement,’ the parents continue. ‘As the governing body, it is unfair and irresponsible to leave the onus on Lia, Lia’s teammates, Lia’s coaches, UPenn athletics and the Ivy League. And it is unfair and irresponsible to Lia to allow the media to dictate the narrative without the participation of the NCAA.’

You know what I don’t care about here? What’s unfair to Lia. Lia’s the one who is unfair and I don’t think he should come first in the list of people who are being treated unfairly. Include him at the end, if you must, but not at the beginning. He knows what he’s doing and he’s smirking about it. He’s not one of the victims in this situation. Yes the adults are helping him do it, but he’s not innocent.

The university sent a terse response to the parents, claiming the school is doing what it can to help the student-athletes navigate Lia’s success, [and] shared a link to mental health services.

“Don’t like it? Go see a shrink, i.e. fuck off.”

‘Please know that we fully support all our swimming student-athletes and want to help our community navigate Lia’s success in the pool this winter,’ the university replied. ‘Penn Athletics is committed to being a welcoming and inclusive environment for all our student-athletes, coaches and staff and we hold true to that commitment today and in the future.’

And blah blah blah to you too, but being “inclusive” shouldn’t mean excluding girls from the girls’ swim team in order to be “inclusive” of a boy. Include the boy on the boys’ swim team if he’s good enough, but leave the girls’ swim team for the girls.

‘We’ve encouraged our student-athletes to utilize the robust resources available to them at Penn, and I’d like to share them with you as well,’ the school wrote the parents, providing links to ‘counseling and psychological services, the LGBT Center, Restorative Practices and our Center for Student-Athlete Success staff.’ 

Yeah no, they don’t want “resources,” they want their swim team back.

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