The father of a female swimmer on the University of Pennsylvania team said his daughter and many of her teammates are coming to the sobering realization that they will never make it to the winner's podium as long as Lia Thomas is still on.
The father, who has a medical background, said during an interview with Fox News Digital that Thomas will represent all Americans at the Olympics.
Scientists say that trans women athletes have a competitive edge.
The father spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear that speaking out on the issue could cause physical harm to his daughter and family. He said that others aren't speaking out because they don't feel like they can do anything about it. They are stuck.
The reason the little girls are excited about this is because they think they can do it. Anybody can do it.
What do you say to your daughter? How do I tell my daughter that Lia was on the Olympic team? You can. You can't be her.
He said that your daughter can still participate in athletics and reap a lot of benefits, but she will never be on the podium.
The National collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sparked a controversy last week after updating its more than decade-old policy on trans athlete participation and taking a sport-by-sport approach to trans participation, which is in line with recent policy changes from the U.S. and International Olympic Committees The governing body in Thomas is USA Swimming, which is still waiting for new directives from the International Swimming Federation.
LIA THOMAS CONTROVERSY IS A MEMBER OF WOMEN'S SPORTS ADVOCATES.
The NCAA used to require trans women athletes to have at least a year of testosterone suppression treatment before they could compete. Testosterone testing will begin with the winter championship in 2022, in which student-athletes who are trans will have to document their testosterone levels at designated points throughout the 2022-23 academic year.
Thomas competed on the men's team for three years before moving to the women's team in 2020. She has already qualified for the NCAA Division I Championships in March and is slated to compete at the Ivy League Championships next month.
Growing concerns about the future of women's sports in light of Thomas' rise on Penn's women's team led to the rule change by the NCAA. According to the New York Times, Thomas has turned in better times this season than several college swimmers who raced in last summer's Olympics, and she recorded the nation's fastest times in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle last month.
The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America called on the NCAA's Competition Oversight Committee to expand this year's participation cap by one spot so that Thomas could compete.
LIA THOMAS: UPENN SWIMMER'S PARENT IS FURIOUS.
The father who spoke with Fox News Digital said that the girls are starting to realize that they will never be able to beat this person.
My daughter doesn't like it. He said that while his daughter hasn't personally lost opportunities to compete, other girls have and will, because the coach is going to take the swimmers that score.
The father wanted to make clear that the criticism is not about transphobia or discrimination, but about protecting fairness in women's sports.
He said that Lia is a wonderful person and that Thomas has been polite about the situation.
He said that Lia was not doing anything against the rules.
He said the current focus on testosterone levels is woefully inadequate and that there are many different hormonal differences between men and women that must be recognized in sports policy.
He said that there are many hormones that are different in women and men. Men and women have different levels of the same type of tissue. Even with a testosterone limit, the man is going to have an advantage because of his collagen levels.
He said there is a real fear that Thomas will wipe out collegiate records held by Ledecky and Franklin during the NCAA Championships, which are set for March 16-19 in Atlanta.
Lia is going to go to the NCAA and she is going to take down the records of both Ledecky and Franklin.
It is a very difficult situation and it has not been good for the team. I can't imagine what it is doing for the future teams.
A Penn women's swimming parent told Fox News Digital last week that his daughter and her teammates believe the rules are unfair, and that there is a good number of them.
Critics of the current rules argue that athletes like Thomas should be placed in a separate category for trans athletes, or that trans athletes should be designated as exhibition contests, which would mean their times wouldn't count.
The male category should be changed to open and the women's category should be female, according to others.
Multiple studies have shown in recent years that trans women athletes who went through a typical male puberty during adolescence still hold a competitive edge over their biologically female competitors even after several years of testosterone suppression therapy.
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