(Headline USA) University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, who competed as a male for three years before identifying as a woman and switching to the school’s women’s team, was nominated last week for the National Collegiate Athletic Association‘s Woman of the Year award.
Thomas is one of 577 athletes nominated for the award, according to a release from the NCAA. All of the other nominees are biological women.
“Established in 1991, the award recognizes female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics and in academics throughout their college careers,” the NCAA said. “As 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year program is an important opportunity to honor and reflect on the impact of women on intercollegiate sports.”
Thomas came under national scrutiny earlier this year after winning first place in the women’s 500-yard NCAA championship. Several female athletes, including some of Thomas’s own teammates, have spoken out against his domination of women.
“Lia identified as a woman, but she is not a female,” one University of Pennsylvania female swimmer said. “That is a fact. It doesn’t matter how you feel.”
Thomas’s award nomination is yet another insult to women who have worked hard to compete and win in the swimming world, others argued.
“The message all year long from Penn, honestly, the Ivy League, and the NCAA has just been that women don’t matter,” said Kim Jones, a former All-American tennis player and the mother of a daughter who competed against Thomas.
“They’re not worthy of receiving access to fair competition,” Jones continued. “They’re not even worthy of dignity and comfort in their locker rooms. This nomination is just the embodiment of that message.”
Former NCAA champion swimmer Marshi Smith told Fox News that she was devastated to hear of Thomas’s nomination.
“It’s humiliating. It’s devastating,” Jones said. “It’s really frustrating to understand where the current NCAA and Ivy League, and especially Penn’s stance is on the value of women in modern society.”
