Firing back
Headline news: Lia Thomas does not admit that his competing as a woman in swimming competitions is unfair. No, really?!!
Transgender NCAA swimming champion Lia Thomas is firing back at those claiming her dominance is unfair to biological women … saying trans athletes will not destroy women’s sports.
“Firing back,” eh – that’s tactful. He’s already physically bullying every woman he competes against; he’s not the one who needs to do any “firing back.”
The University of Penn athlete broke her silence on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday … saying she knew she’d face backlash once she started competing against women, but no amount of scrutiny would stop her.
And no amount of women pointing out how unfair it is would stop him. Of course it wouldn’t: he’s an entitled prick.
“I was prepared for that, but I don’t need anyone’s permission to be myself and do the sport that I love,” she said.
Except that it’s not himself. It’s a fiction. Himself is a man, but he’s competing against women, while claiming to be a “trans woman.”
And the boast about not needing anyone’s permission is very rapey, very entitled, very domestic violence-like.
“Transitioning to get an advantage is not something that ever factors into our decisions,” he says. I don’t believe him. “Trans women are not a threat to women’s sport,” he says. Of course they are. Men have physical advantages over women, so if men start forcing their way into women’s sport, they will ruin it for women. That’s a threat.
The interview was a lot of ME ME ME. It’s sociopathic. Fire back all you want Willy, the truth is bulletproof.
I could have stood for his silence to remain unbroken indefinitely. Thomas’s “authentic self” is a thief, a cheat and a liar. He doesn’t rate narc-fueling puff pieces that let him wallow in undeserved self-pity. He “knew he’d face backlash” because some teeny, tiny part of him knows that what he’s doing is wrong, but by the end of that sentence he’s managed to smother that last wisp of decency and humility. Talk to the women he robbed of places on the team or the podium.
It’s strange how the media is sitting on the bigger story of the institutional rules that let Thomas onto the women’s team in the first place, and the threats and intimidation used to silence the women who were forced to accept his presence there. This is bigger than any doping scandal. Doping is against the rules and done in secret. When discovered it is disavowed and punished. This cheating is right out in the open, facilitated by the very organizations, institutions, coaches and trainers that the women should have been able to trust to have their backs. Nope. These are the people who decided to prioritize the wants of one narcissistic man over the needs of the women in their care and charge.
Usually a story so chock full of institutional corruption, dishonesty, and unfairness would be like chum in the water for investigative reporters. They’d be taking names, and heads would roll. The stories could practically write themselves. Just a few pointed reality-based questions to the right people and the whole thing implodes in cloud of rainbow sparkles. But nada. Where are all the crusading, muckraking reporters? What are they afraid of? Who are they afraid of? Why the deafening silence? If they’re too spineless to tackle the moral and ethical failings of the NCAA and the Penn State women’s swimming program, how the hell can we expect them to report on the even greater scandal that’s happening in women’s prisons?
If journalists reported honestly, the unfairness would be patent.
“The athlete broke his silence on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday … saying he knew he’d face backlash once he started competing against women, but no amount of scrutiny would stop him.”
Thomas is “firing back at those claiming his dominance is unfair to biological women … saying male athletes will not destroy women’s sports.”
“I was prepared for that, but I don’t need anyone’s permission to be myself and do the sport that I love,” he said.”
It’s not true. It’s a patent lie. He could do whatever he wants to himself and still do the sport he loves as much as he wants to. He can do it in the men’s division, where he has competed all his life.
If “being his authentic self” is so important, he can choose between that and swimming with the men. He’ll still be a “transwoman” after his career is over, right? What’s the rush?
In some cases, these are the people who decided winning is more important than fairness or allowing women to compete against women.
Michael H,
Thomas wouldn’t even need to choose between being a transwoman and competing with the men. My understanding is that the NCAA doesn’t prohibit women (trans- or cis-) from competing in the men’s divisions. A year or two ago, a men’s football team was short on kickers due to COVID, and brought in a female soccer player to handle the kicking duties for a game.
There have been multiple instances of women competing in men’s divisions of various sports outside the NCAA, too. I believe a girl was just drafted by a Canadian junior (boys) hockey team. Several decades ago, a woman played goal in an NHL exhibition game, and in regular season games in the minors. Golfer Michelle Wie entered a few PGA events. None of them really had any success; my point is not that women can compete on a equal level with the top male athletes. I’m just noting that nobody seemed to think that those women’s femininity or identity as women was compromised by their doing so. Thomas could easily have said “yes, I’m a woman now, but I’m going to continue to compete in the men’s division, even if my diminished testosterone puts me at a disadvantage, because I just love swimming so much.”