Months after being catapulted into the center of the international debate over whether transgender girls and women should be allowed to participate on female sports teams, University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas is speaking out.
Thomas, 22, became the subject of international intrigue and debate after setting multiple records throughout the 2021-2022 college swim season. Her wins have also subjected her to criticism from other elite swimmers — including Olympic champion Michael Phelps and some of her own teammates — as well as verbal attacks from anti-trans groups and conservative media outlets.
But in an interview with the magazine Sports Illustrated, published Thursday — and after months of relative silence — the college senior opened up about coming out, discussed her Olympic ambitions and pushed back on the unprecedented slew of attacks she's faced for living and competing as a woman.
“The very simple answer is that I’m not a man,” she told the magazine. “I’m a woman, so I belong on the women’s team. Trans people deserve that same respect every other athlete gets.”
Thomas revealed that she began questioning her gender identity near the end of her time in high school, in Austin, Texas.
“I felt off,” she said, and “disconnected with my body.”
While researching her feelings online and consulting her family members — who told the magazine that they would do "everything and anything" to make her feel accepted — Thomas competed on Penn's men's team during her freshman and sophomore years.
Throughout that time, she accomplished more than most college athletes could ever dream of: She earned multiple spots on the All-Ivy team, got closer to her goal of swimming at the NCAA championships and nearly qualified for the 2020 Olympic trials.
Still, she was "very depressed," Thomas told the magazine.
“I got to the point where I couldn’t go to school. I was missing classes," she said. "My sleep schedule was super messed up. Some days I couldn’t get out of bed. I knew at that moment I needed to do something to address this.”
During her junior year, Thomas came out to her friends, teammates and coaches. However, in order to comply with previous NCAA policy, which required trans female athletes to undergo hormone replacement therapy for at least one year prior to competing on women's teams, she still had to compete on Penn's men's team.
By late 2021, after taking a gap year in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, Thomas was finally able to join her school's women’s team. But not without internal backlash.
Two of her teammates, speaking anonymously, reportedly told the sports website OutKick that they disagreed with her participation, viewing it as unfair. And last month, 16 members of Penn’s women’s swimming and diving team sent a letter to the university and the Ivy League, arguing against Thomas’ participation in the Ivy League championships.
Thomas' place on the women's team has also sparked outrage from some Penn parents. One Penn parent told the magazine that while they identify as progressive, they oppose Thomas competing on the women's team.
“Lia is a human being who deserves to be treated with respect and dignity," the parent, whom the magazine did not identify, said. "But it’s not transphobic to say I disagree with where she’s swimming.”
Overall, Thomas estimates that half of the team's members are against her taking part in women’s competitions, compared with six to eight who are in favor, she told the magazine.
Regardless, she remains undeterred.
“I don’t look into the negativity and the hate,” Thomas said. “I am here to swim.”
