Penn swimmer Lia Thomas offered a simple explanation for why she belongs on the women's team

INSIDER

Lia Thomas has faced scrutiny for competing on the Penn women's swim team.
The trans athlete explained why she is on the women's side.
The very simple answer is that I am not a man. Thomas said that she was a woman.

Lia Thomas, a college senior who has been at the center of the debate on tranny participation in women's sports, has no doubt that she will be on the University of Pennsylvania's swimming team.

She offered a simple explanation for why she is competing on the women's side and dominating on the men's side.

Thomas said that he was not a man and that he belonged on the women's team.

She said that trans people deserve the same respect as other athletes.

One anonymous parent of a Penn swimmer believes that she deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, just as any other woman.

It is not transphobic to say I disagree with where she is swimming.

Thomas does not agree with that logic. To her, there are two options, either you back her fully as a woman or you don't.

Thomas said that she is a woman, just like anyone else on the team. It is what I have done for so long and I love it.

Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, swims for the University of Pennsylvania at an Ivy League swim meet against Harvard University in Cambridge — Thomas.Getty/Joseph Prezioso

The 22-year-old is going to compete with two of his teammates at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Georgia. She will race in the 100, 200, and 500-meter free, all three events in which she won the Ivy League championship, with a chance to break longstanding records and make history.

The original article can be found on Insider.

Half of the University of Pennsylvania star's team doesn't like her competing against other women, according to a Sports Illustrated feature.
USA Swimming told Sports Illustrated that they have no issue with Thomas participating as long as she meets the criteria for the women's category.
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