Female swimmers speak out against organization for seeking PR help with trans athlete scandal

Fox News

31-07-2025

Three female U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS) athletes have spoken out against the organization for asking for help with public relations amid a scandal involving a biological male trans competitor swimming against females.
USMS, a competitive swimming membership organization with over 60,000 adult swimmers, sent an email to its athletes Tuesday seeking help defending its public image after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched a lawsuit against the organization.
Paxton's lawsuit stems from an incident in San Antonio at the end of April, when a trans athlete won five women's events.
"We need your help setting the record straight as part of our newly launched #SwimsuitsNotLawsuits campaign," the email to members said.
The email went on to ask that members "share correct information when you see or hear inaccurate statements. Please help us by providing facts in response, whether it's on social media, at the pool, or in your local community. Let others know what's great about our organization."
The email also referred to "rumors" about the situation.
"This situation began with rumors about one member's performance at our Spring Nationals in April in San Antonio. An external organization fueled online speculation about this swimmer's eligibility, which led to protests from fellow members and an investigation by the Attorney General in Texas," the email added.
USMS revised its gender eligibility policy in June to restrict the competitive recognition biological males can attain in women's events, but it still allows them to compete with females.
Veteran women's swimmer Wendy Enderle, who competed against the trans athlete in April and previously told Fox News Digital she was never made aware of the athlete's biological sex, told Fox News Digital she sees the email as "an insult."
"I think the email from USMS is insulting to the women who unknowingly competed against men and to all the members of USMS who support fairness in women's sports, and it p---es me off," Enderle said.
"It also makes me feel like my concerns have been dismissed and that U.S. Masters Swimming is trying to sweep this under the rug with a PR campaign, especially given the fact that they have yet to respond to the eligibility review requests submitted three months ago.
"It makes me feel hurt and sad because I train very hard to be one of the top swimmers in the world in my age group, and, like, my hard work and accomplishments in the pool don't matter to them. I am very disappointed in USMS for sending out this tone-deaf email to its members."
Enderle previously said she requested an eligibility review for the trans athlete but has never received a response.
Women's swimmer Angie Griffin called out USMS for its policies that still allow males to compete in women's events and for not responding to the request for eligibility review.
"USMS is asking members to publicly support the organization through a PR campaign, while continuing to ignore the women who were directly affected," Griffin said.
"Placing the feelings of one athlete above the rights of many to fair competition was a mistake, and it still hasn't been acknowledged. We're not asking for much, just a response. Those of us who took the time to file formal protests deserve to be taken seriously. A simple answer would go a long way toward rebuilding trust.
"I appreciate that USMS has since revised its eligibility policy. That's a step in the right direction. But real accountability means recognizing past harm — not rewriting history or shifting blame. Until that happens, asking us to be the public voice defending the organization feels premature and unfair."
Fellow women's swimmer Cissy Cochran told Fox News Digital she is refusing to compete in any USMS events after receiving the email.
"USMS has now sent out an email asking all the members to participate in a PR campaign to help clear up any misconceptions," Cochran said. "They again place the Interim transgender policy at the forefront, making it look like they have cleaned up their act when, in fact, we have received no word on the eligibility request we have submitted the first week of May 2025. Maybe a first step should have been acknowledging the wrong that took place in April.
"USMS refusing to acknowledge or even respond to our formal complaints speaks volumes about the leadership. I refuse to participate in any USMS events and welcome all the help from the Texas and Florida attorney general in our fight to save women's sports."
A USMS spokesperson told Fox News Digital the review process for the athlete is "ongoing."
"USMS's eligibility review process for one swimmer is still ongoing. We are navigating our process in a fair and deliberate manner and expect to have a decision soon. The members who submitted protests will be the first to know when that process is complete," the USMS spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also addressed the complaints made by the female swimmers.
"The messaging we sent to our members had nothing to do with the eligibility review process. We launched our Swimsuits Not Lawsuits campaign to correct misleading public statements about USMS and clarify what we do. Our mission is to empower adults to improve their lives through swimming," the spokesperson said.
"We believe asking for our members' help correcting misperceptions is an appropriate way to limit resources spent on legal action so it can be used for its intended purpose of serving our 60,000 members, and the response from our members thus far has been positive."
The trans swimmer, 47-year-old Ana Caldas, dominated all five races the athlete competed in in April, taking gold in the women's age 45-49 category in five races, including the 50- and 100-yard breaststroke, freestyle and the 100-yard individual medley.