Lia Thomas will swim in Ivy League championships, conference says

[mahatmakanejeeves]

FILED UNDER: TRANS ATHLETES | SWIMMING | COLLEGE SPORTS

Lia Thomas will swim in Ivy League championships, conference says

Conference notes NCAA policy for current year only applies to NCAA championships.

By Karleigh Webb Feb 8, 2022, 3:30pm PST

The Ivy League confirmed late Monday that University of Pennsylvania senior swimmer Lia Thomas will be eligible to compete in the conference’s championship meet, February 16-19 in Cambridge, Mass.

The decision, confirmed via email to Swimming World magazine, lays at least one question to rest for the transgender woman competitor who has been at the center of a growing debate over inclusion. Her eligibility for NCAA Division I national championship meet in March in Atlanta, where she has already qualified in two events, will be decided later this month.

Thomas has the potential to become the first transgender student athlete to win an Ivy League individual championship in the history of the conference, and join former University of Montana distance runner Juniper Eastwood as the only transgender student-athletes to win an individual conference title in NCAA Division I.

{snip}

[keithbvadu2]

1. Female to male trans swimmer wants handicap?

Female to male trans swimmer wants handicap?

No identifying details concerning where/who.

Anyone got a link to it?

Start about 4:25 on the timeline.

?t=266

[Mary in S. Carolina]

2. Dumb, really dumb

[IngridsLittleAngel]

3. May want to take a look at where you're posting...

This happens to be a safe haven for LGBT's. Which, yes, includes T's.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. Please check the source:

https://www.outsports.com/trans/2022/2/8/22924111/lia-thomas-ivy-league-swimming-ncaa-trans-athletes-ioc-transgender

[IngridsLittleAngel]

6. You're cool.

My reply wasn't directed at you, and I'm sorry if you thought it was.

You're not the one who replied with "dumb, really dumb".

[mahatmakanejeeves]

11. Whoops. I see that now. My mistake. Thanks. NT

[IngridsLittleAngel]

13. You're welcome

[Mary in S. Carolina]

5. I know where I am posting

I agree that this is a safe place for women and LGBT's including T', but I still think this is a wedge issue that is dumb - my opinion.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

7. So let me see...

An article stating that a trans swimmer can take part in the conference championships, being posted in LGBT, is "really dumb" and a "wedge issue"?

[Mary in S. Carolina]

8. Yes

[IngridsLittleAngel]

9. Safe Space...

safe space
noun
noun: safe space; plural noun: safe spaces

a place or environment in which a person or category of people can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm.
"school must be a safe space for LGBT students"

[Behind the Aegis]

10. I am a host of the LGBT group.

As already explained, this is a SAFE SPACE for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender persons. Coming into this group, with your first post, calling an issue "dumb" and then calling it a "wedge issue", while your opinion, is not conducive to making this group a safe space it is intended to be. If you wish to continue posting in this group, then it is important to be more aware of how you are stating your opinion. The LGBT community is in no way monolith in its thinking, opinions, or concerns. That said, in this group, if you cannot be supportive and feel the need to refer to concerns in our community as "dumb", then this may not be the place for you to post. Groups, which this is, are not the same as a Forum (such as LBN or General Discussion).

You have stated your opinion. You have now been warned about the tone of said opinion, and any further posts in this GROUP will be in spirt of this group being a SAFE SPACE or you will no longer be allowed to post here.

[Mary in S. Carolina]

12. Why are sports separated by gender?

When you pit women against transgender athletes, this creates a wedge issue with 2 predominately democratic groups fighting against each other. DU is a safe place for women and transgender - neither group is superior.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

14. At the risk of overstepping a group host...

Safe space means just that. This is a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community to discuss issues that matter to us, what's going on with our lives, and to do so in a supportive, nurturing environment.

No one here comes to this group to have debates on what rights same-sex couples should or shouldn't have, when trans people should be allowed to start hormones, and whether or not trans athletes should or should not be allowed to play sports.

If neither group is superior, then why are you trying to create a chasm between them? I'm sorry to say, no, I don't buy your reasoning.

Trans women are women. Trans men are men. And, I'm sorry to say, I find what you're posting and where you're posting it to be more than a bit offensive.

[Mary in S. Carolina]

15. Please accept my apology

for some reason, I was confident that I was in General Discussion - even though I was in the LGBT Group.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

16. More thoughts on Lia and trans athletes...

During my time here on DU - which dates back further than when I first posted, and far further back from signing up - I've heard how transwomen need to do without this or do without that because, goddamnit, giving them equal rights and fair treatment would be unfair to ciswomen.

If we let trans people use the restrooms of their choice, it "makes it easier for men to sexually assault women."

If we let young trans people start therapy, it's "dangerous!" They're "too young" to make that kind of decision! OMG! TRANSITION REGRET!!!!!

We can't let Lia Thomas, despite her testosterone level being underneath the legal limit, swim because... BROAD SHOULDERS! 462 TO 1! SHE'S BREAKING RECORDS AND THESE POOR CISWOMEN CAN'T COMPETE!!!

Do you know what has been blowing up my news feed for days now, despite avoiding the Olympics like the plague? Kamila Valieva.

Kamila has tested positive for several drugs, and has been classified as a doper. She's pulled off feats unheard of, and is destroying the competition. And in her case, this is NOT allowed under any rules. She's failed drug tests. She has doped. She has cheated. She has thrown fair play and competition out the window - not from "chromosomes" or transitioning, but the use of illegal, performance enhancing drugs.

Do you know how many of the "protect cisgender female athletes" I've heard speak up against this blatant display of doping and cheating?

ZERO.

Every fucking time the issue of trans equality comes up, I listen as the same people speak up about how we need to stop this, block that, do this and disallow that, because if this is allowed, it will hurt cisgender women. Won't someone think of the ciswomen?

Right before your very eyes (all due apologies, Peter Cetera). Right here, with the whole world watching... A cisgender woman has just stomped all over fair play and the rules. She "won", the same way Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens "won". She deprived other women of a chance to win, by taking drugs she was not allowed to take.

Do you know what I hear? Crickets. None of you have spoken up. None of you have fought back for the skaters that Kamila Valieva crushed. None of you have screamed "UNFAIR ADVANTAGE!!!!" You've sat back and let this unfold because... Kamila has the right chromosomes. Because she's a real woman with XX chromosomes, there's no issue with her becoming the female Ivan Drago to win.

This isn't about sports or fair play. It's just discrimination. And saying that may upset you, but, the truth sometimes does that. But the reality is this: If you cared about fairness in sports, you'd be more upset over doping than gender reassignment.

If I had a daughter, and she had to swim against Lia Thomas, assuming she complied by the rules and had a legal testosterone level? I'd tell her "All you can do is do your best. And the say rule in life is sometimes someone is better than you."

But if that same daughter had to skate against Kamila Valieva? "This isn't fair. Sometimes in life you win. Sometimes in life you lose. But when they cheat to beat you, they've cheated the entire game, and no one deserves that."

So, if you have a problem with Lia, but you're fine with Kamila? You're not speaking up for equality... You just hate transwomen.