Latest news with #Trans101
Fox News
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Controversial transgender swimmer Lia Thomas vows to fight trans athlete bans amid national shift on issue
Former University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas recently spoke up in support of the trans athlete community as most Americans have become opposed to trans inclusion in women's sports. Thomas spoke up about the issue at the HiTOPS trans youth forum on Saturday. "I am going to keep fighting as much as I am able to," Thomas said over Zoom. "In order to fight the battles we need to fight, we have to stick together and support each other." Thomas' recent comments come three years after the athlete was allowed to swim in the women's category for UPenn at the 2022 Ivy League championships and NCAA championships. Thomas previously competed for the university's men's swimming team under the name Will Thomas. But the previous NCAA gender eligibility policy allowed trans athletes to compete with and share locker rooms with women, so Thomas took advantage and went on to break multiple women's records. Thomas was even the focus of mostly-positive attention from the mainstream legacy media in 2022, doing sit-down interviews with ESPN, NBC News and "Good Morning America." But three years later, President Donald Trump has ordered a national ban on trans athletes in women's sports, the NCAA has amended its policy to keep biological males from competing on women's teams, and data suggests the vast majority of Americans oppose trans inclusion in women's sports. But Thomas believes the policies of trans athlete inclusion should be left up to the trans athletes themselves. "It has to be the athletes deciding for themselves where they feel most affirmed and most comfortable," she said. "Having routes that are safe and non-discriminatory, that allow them access to that." Thomas' inclusion on the women's swimming team at UPenn in the 2021-22 season has prompted multiple lawsuits and a pause in $175 million in federal funding to the university for Title IX violations. Riley Gaines currently leads a lawsuit against the NCAA, alongside several other women who competed with Thomas in 2021-22, over its previous gender identity policy. In February, three of Thomas' former teammates filed a lawsuit against the university, the Ivy League and the NCAA, seeking to have all of Thomas' records in the women's category revoked, while also alleging the university pushed pro-trans ideology on the team. The three former women's swimmers, Grace Estabrook, Margot Kaczorowski and Ellen Holmquist, claim that by allowing Thomas to compete, the institutions "injured them and violated federal law." "The UPenn administrators told the women that if anyone was struggling with accepting Thomas's participation on the UPenn Women's team, they should seek counseling and support from CAPS and the LBGTQ center," the lawsuit alleges. "The administrators also invited the women to a talk titled, 'Trans 101.' Thus, the women were led to understand that UPenn's position was that if a woman on the team had any problem with a trans-identifying male being on her team, that woman had a psychological problem and needed counseling." Meanwhile, after the 2022 college season, Thomas made an attempt to compete in the Olympics as a woman, but was denied. World Aquatics amended its policy later that year to prohibit any trans athlete who went through male puberty from competing in the women's category. Thomas lost a court challenge to that rule in 2024. "I felt so devastated and [felt] grief over losing this access to my sport," Thomas said Saturday. "There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to fight this, that this is my sport too, and I'm not just gonna give it up." A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women. A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump's opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls' and women's sports and of transgender boys and men using girls' and women's bathrooms" as important to them. Additionally, 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important." Gaines, who infamously tied Thomas at the 2022 NCAA championships, has since become a prominent conservative political influencer and believes Thomas' inclusion in the women's category played heavily into the outcome of the 2024 election. "I think we should send a thank-you note to people like Will Thomas, I really do, signed and sealed by me. I will sign the thank-you note, I will write it, because I believe he handed us the election," Gaines previously told Fox News Digital.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California's San Mateo County celebrates trans people, fights bullying
At a time of attacks on transgender people and immigrants, San Mateo County in Northern California is standing up for them. Keep up with the latest in + news and politics. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Tuesday OK'd a resolution confirming the county's commitment to fight bullying of young people, Local News Matters reports. The county is located just south of San Francisco. '[Donald] Trump's bullying tactics have swept across our schools, causing immigrant children to fear being deported and LGBTQ+ children to fear having their long-fought for rights to be trampled upon,' Board President David Canepa, the resolution's sponsor, said in a statement released Monday night, according to the site. The resolution 'directs each county department and employee to engage in efforts that prevent bullying, provide education and intervene if bullying occurs,' the site notes. The board also voted Tuesday to recognize March 31, next Monday, as Transgender Day of Visibility. It raised the trans Pride flag Wednesday on the county flagpole in anticipation of the day. 'For everyone that is a part of this community, we see you, we are here with you, and we are committed to celebrating your beauty, your love, our pride, and your joy,' Supervisor Noelia Corzo, the new liaison to the county's LGBTQIA+ Commission, said at the ceremony, according to local paper The Daily Journal. 'San Mateo County does lead the way, but that doesn't mean that we don't have more work to do,' Corzo added. 'I want to thank the commission for their ongoing work in pushing us to be more welcoming, be more affirming, provide a safer community for every LGBTQIA+ community member in our county.' People attending the ceremony waved their own small trans Pride flags. Ishani Dugar, lead trainer and peer group coordinator at the San Mateo County Pride Center, spoke at the event on the importance of visibility. 'Wear flags or raise them if you have them, share your pronouns with folks, correct assumptions about identity that people will hold, push back on folks who assume that others in their space will be comfortable with transphobic language or with assuming that trans people are not present,' Dugar said. The Pride Center will hold an online Trans 101 Workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday. On Friday, it will host a mixer for families of trans kids from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former UPenn swimmer celebrates Trump's women's sports order, says Lia Thomas saga was 'dark time'
Female athletes and advocates are celebrating President Donald Trump's latest executive order, which bans transgender women from participating in girls' and women's sports. Supporters say the decision restores fairness and safety in athletics, while critics argue it unfairly targets and discriminates against transgender individuals. Margot Kaczorowski, a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer, was among the first to speak out. She and several other Ivy League athletes have filed a lawsuit, claiming they experienced emotional distress after competing alongside Lia Thomas, a transgender woman and former teammate. "It was a very dark time," Kaczorowski said in an interview on "America's Newsroom." "We were forced to be in the locker room with Thomas, and multiple girls on the team had expressed feeling uncomfortable with that." Trump Education Dept To Probe Sjsu, Upenn For Potential Title Ix Violations After Trans Athlete Scandals According to Kaczorowski, the school administration told the team that Thomas' participation was "non-negotiable." Those who were unhappy with the situation were offered counseling services or advised to meet with the LGBTQ+ center. Read On The Fox News App "Kind of implying that we had something wrong with us for believing that it was wrong," she said. "I just always grew up under the guise of thinking this could never happen. Yes, of course, women deserve fairness and respect…. To have that kind of stripped away was a shock." Their lawsuit alleges that UPenn administrators "invited the women to a talk titled 'Trans 101,'" which led the women to believe that "if a woman on the team had any problem with a trans-identifying male being on her team, that woman has a psychological problem and needed counseling." Riley Gaines, host of OutKick's "Gaines for Girls" podcast and a prominent advocate for banning transgender women from female sports, stood behind Trump as he signed the order on Wednesday. Gaines has frequently shared her discomfort with sharing a locker room with Lia Thomas during the 2022 NCAA Championships. She described it as "one of the most violating experiences you could possibly imagine." Reflecting on her presence at the White House during the signing, the podcast host told Fox's Sean Hannity, "I just feel vindicated… Every day since January 20th, I have been just overwhelmed by God's mercy that we certainly do not deserve." Former NCAA swimmer Paula Scanlan echoed those sentiments during an appearance on "The Ingraham Angle." "It was the greatest day of my life," Scanlan said, though she called it "bittersweet" that an executive order was necessary to address the issue. The executive order, titled the Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports Executive Order, prohibits individuals assigned male at birth from competing in female sports divisions or using women's locker rooms and restrooms in schools. It also directs federal agencies to work with sports governing bodies to enforce these rules beyond schools, including at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. "Women's sports will be only for women," Trump declared before signing the order at the White House, surrounded by dozens of female athletes and advocates who had lobbied for the measure. "The war on women's sports is over."Trump Executive Order On Protecting Women's Sports Draws Response From Ncaa However, the order has sparked immediate backlash from LGBTQ+ rights groups and civil liberties organizations, who argue that it unfairly targets a vulnerable population and perpetuates harmful stereotypes about transgender people. "This administration's latest inaccurate and incoherent piece of paper smears an entire group of Americans," the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) said in a statement. "Every American should demand that so-called leaders stop attacking vulnerable people and start doing their jobs solving actual problems." Opponents also point out that there is limited evidence of transgender women dominating women's sports, and that many transgender athletes face significant barriers to accessing competitive opportunities. "My administration will not stand by and watch men beat and batter female athletes," Trump said during the signing. "We're just not going to let it happen. It's going to end, and it's ending right now. And nobody's going to be able to do a damn thing about it."Original article source: Former UPenn swimmer celebrates Trump's women's sports order, says Lia Thomas saga was 'dark time'
Fox News
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Former UPenn swimmer celebrates Trump's women's sports order, says Lia Thomas saga was 'dark time'
Female athletes and advocates are celebrating President Donald Trump's latest executive order, which bans transgender women from participating in girls' and women's sports. Supporters say the decision restores fairness and safety in athletics, while critics argue it unfairly targets and discriminates against transgender individuals. Margot Kaczorowski, a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer, was among the first to speak out. She and several other Ivy League athletes have filed a lawsuit, claiming they experienced emotional distress after competing alongside Lia Thomas, a transgender woman and former teammate. "It was a very dark time," Kaczorowski said in an interview on "America's Newsroom." "We were forced to be in the locker room with Thomas, and multiple girls on the team had expressed feeling uncomfortable with that." According to Kaczorowski, the school administration told the team that Thomas' participation was "non-negotiable." Those who were unhappy with the situation were offered counseling services or advised to meet with the LGBTQ+ center. "Kind of implying that we had something wrong with us for believing that it was wrong," she said. "I just always grew up under the guise of thinking this could never happen. Yes, of course, women deserve fairness and respect…. To have that kind of stripped away was a shock." Their lawsuit alleges that UPenn administrators "invited the women to a talk titled 'Trans 101,'" which led the women to believe that "if a woman on the team had any problem with a trans-identifying male being on her team, that woman has a psychological problem and needed counseling." Riley Gaines, host of OutKick's "Gaines for Girls" podcast and a prominent advocate for banning transgender women from female sports, stood behind Trump as he signed the order on Wednesday. Gaines has frequently shared her discomfort with sharing a locker room with Lia Thomas during the 2022 NCAA Championships. She described it as "one of the most violating experiences you could possibly imagine." Reflecting on her presence at the White House during the signing, the podcast host told Fox's Sean Hannity, "I just feel vindicated… Every day since January 20th, I have been just overwhelmed by God's mercy that we certainly do not deserve." Former NCAA swimmer Paula Scanlan echoed those sentiments during an appearance on "The Ingraham Angle." "It was the greatest day of my life," Scanlan said, though she called it "bittersweet" that an executive order was necessary to address the issue. The executive order, titled the Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports Executive Order, prohibits individuals assigned male at birth from competing in female sports divisions or using women's locker rooms and restrooms in schools. It also directs federal agencies to work with sports governing bodies to enforce these rules beyond schools, including at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. "Women's sports will be only for women," Trump declared before signing the order at the White House, surrounded by dozens of female athletes and advocates who had lobbied for the measure. "The war on women's sports is over."TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON PROTECTING WOMEN'S SPORTS DRAWS RESPONSE FROM NCAA However, the order has sparked immediate backlash from LGBTQ+ rights groups and civil liberties organizations, who argue that it unfairly targets a vulnerable population and perpetuates harmful stereotypes about transgender people. "This administration's latest inaccurate and incoherent piece of paper smears an entire group of Americans," the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) said in a statement. "Every American should demand that so-called leaders stop attacking vulnerable people and start doing their jobs solving actual problems." Opponents also point out that there is limited evidence of transgender women dominating women's sports, and that many transgender athletes face significant barriers to accessing competitive opportunities. "My administration will not stand by and watch men beat and batter female athletes," Trump said during the signing. "We're just not going to let it happen. It's going to end, and it's ending right now. And nobody's going to be able to do a damn thing about it."
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Female swimmers sue to strip trans athlete Lia Thomas of medals
Three former Ivy League swimmers have filed a lawsuit to strip their transgender teammate of her medals. Former members of the University of Pennsylvania women's swim team said they were left 'emotionally traumatised' by training with transgender athlete Lia Thomas and have called for her records to be scrubbed, according to the suit. Grace Estabrook, Ellen Holmquist and Margot Kaczorowski are suing their alma mater, Harvard University, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Ivy League Council of Presidents. They accused the institutions of breaching their Title IX rights by permitting Ms Thomas to swim against women and share their changing rooms during the 2021-22 season, according to the lawsuit obtained by Fox News. Title XI laws protect against gender discrimination in schools and were extended in 2024 by the Biden administration to encompass transgender and LGBTQ+ people. During her time competing for UPenn, Ms Thomas broke several women's records at the Ivy League Championship meet in 2022, which was hosted at Harvard University. The lawsuit, in which Ms Thomas was not named as a defendant, was filed on Tuesday after Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women's sports. The lawsuit claimed that the team was initially told they would not be sharing a changing room with Ms Thomas, but that the university soon changed its policy. 'Margot [Kaczorowski] only learned that Thomas had been authorised by UPenn to use the women's locker room when she walked in the women's locker room to find Thomas in front of her changing his clothing,' it adds. According to the lawsuit, Ms Kaczorowski confronted Mike Schnur, the team's head coach, in tears following the incident, and that the coach responded by saying 'I know it's wrong but there's nothing I can do'. 'Coach Schnur told the Plaintiffs he would be fired by UPenn if he did not allow Thomas to use the women's locker room and compete on the women's swim team,' the lawsuit alleges. It adds that UPenn administrators invited the female athletes to a talk titled 'Trans 101' that suggested raising concerns about having a trans-identifying biological male that had a 'psychological problem and needed counselling'. It also alleges that university administrators warned them against speaking out about the situation, claiming it would harm their career prospects. 'The UPenn administrators went on to tell the women that if the women spoke publicly about their concerns about Thomas' participation on the Women's Team, the reputation of those complaining about Thomas being on the team would be tainted with transphobia for the rest of their lives and they would probably never be able to get a job,'' the lawsuit alleges. Ms Thomas, who was born male, previously competed on the UPenn men's swimming team from 2017-2020 before being introduced to the women's squad as their incoming teammate in the autumn 2019, according to the suit. The swimmer went on to win the national college championships and became the subject of a major lawsuit against the NCAA over its refusal to prevent transgender women competing in women's sports. A spokesman for the NCAA said: 'College sports are the premier stage for women's sports in America, and while the NCAA does not comment on pending litigation, the association and its members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women's sports and ensure fair competition in all NCAA championships.' The University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University and the Ivy League Council of Presidents were approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
