NBC News published a report over the weekend claiming there is “very little scientific evidence” that transgender athletes have an advantage over biological females in women’s sports.
“There are a few different arguments happening here,” said NBC reporter Jo Yurcaba when asked about transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Thomas has broken several NCAA records previously set by women.
“You’ve got an argument about fairness—there are people who oppose trans women competing in women’s sports because they say it’s unfair to cisgender women who aren’t trans, most of whom don’t receive the athletic advantages of higher testosterone levels during puberty,” Yurcaba claimed.
“Though, then you have folks who say there is very little scientific evidence that shows those advantages carry over for trans women after transition,” she added.
Thomas, who swims for the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s swim team, continues to beat almost every female competitor.
Thomas won the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle during the school’s tri-meet with Yale and Dartmouth over the weekend but lost the 100-yard freestyle, which was won by a different transgender athlete: Iszac Henig, a biological female who is transitioning to become a transgender male.
Parents of UPenn swimmers have slammed the university and the NCAA for allowing Thomas to compete against their daughters, arguing that the biological male’s physical advantage makes real competition possible.
However, the NCAA and the Ivy League have defended their decision to allow Thomas to compete as a female.
“Over the past several years, Lia and the University of Pennsylvania worked with the NCAA to follow all of the appropriate protocols in order to comply with the NCAA policy on transgender athlete participation and compete on the Penn women’s swimming and diving team. The Ivy League has adopted and applies the same NCAA policy,” the conference said in a statement last week.
“The Ivy League reaffirms its unwavering commitment to providing an inclusive environment for all student-athletes while condemning transphobia and discrimination in any form,” the statement continued. “The league welcomes her participation in the sport of women’s swimming and diving and looks forward to celebrating the success of all of our student-athletes throughout the season.”
