Will Thomas

Where the Rubber Hits the Road

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• Will Thomas competed for three years at UPenn on the men's swim team. Somewhere along the line, he decides he's female. Lo, and behold. He's allowed to compete as such. Yes, he had to be on hormone blockers for a year, (something Mother Nature does not intend for us to do) but that did not reduce his height, wingspan, heart size, lung capacity, bone density, etc. To suggest that a male should be allowed to inject some chemicals into his body, declare himself female and compete as such, sounds more than a little questionable -- but the NCAA disagrees, proving I'm just not progressive enough.
  
  
• Swimming for the men's team, Will Thomas did fairly well.
  • 2017-18: Ivy League Championships qualifier in 500 free (A final), 1000 free (A final), 1650 free (A final).
  • 2018-19: Second-team All-Ivy in the 500 free, 1,000 free, and 1,650 free after reaching the ‘A’ final of the Ivy League Championships and finishing second overall in each of the events.
  • 2019-20: Competed in four of Penn’s eight regular season events … Won the 500 free against Villanova (Nov. 15).
  
  
• But as a female swimmer, his results have been outstanding. Here are a few records "Lia" has broken:
  • 500-yard freestyle. "Lia" won with a time of 4:34.06, beating the second-place finisher by 14.39 seconds.
  • 200-yard freestyle. "Lia" set a pool, program and meet record with a time of 1:41.93. “She won the race by nearly seven seconds and her time was the fastest in the country,” the Penn sports information department said in a press release. Correction: He won the race in record time.
  • 1,650 freestyle. "Lia" won by more than 38 seconds in 15:59.71 to set another university record.
  
  
• Looking into my crystal ball, I see transgendered females playing women's NCAA basketball. "Starting at center standing 6'8", Disney Jones!" If these policies for transgendered athletes aren't reversed, there will be two divisions: men's and coed. That, or women's athletics will go the way of the dinosaur.
  
  Will Thomas, who competed in men's NCAA swimming for three seasons, now competes as "Lia" in women's NCAA swimming. I'd say you can't make this stuff up -- but here we are.
  
      

 

 

     

 

The picture below goes into my "A picture is worth a thousand words" category. I point out the podium heights for the three athletes are offset a few inches. So, the height differences aren't quite as they appear. "Lia" is 6'1", Emma is 5'8", Erica is 5'7". What we see here are two women and one man standing at the podium of the women's 500 Freestyle finals during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia. Will (I mean Lia) Thomas, who is male, is accepting the winning trophy as Emma Weyant and Erica Sullivan, two females, accept their second and third place trophies. I'm sure those who support the rights of transgendered athletes are standing and applauding. As for me, not so much. Certainly, the 3rd place winner does not appear thrilled. Sour grapes? Sore loser? It would be interesting to hear what the woman who came in 4th place thinks as she watches from the sidelines instead of standing on the platform, but we'll never hear what she has to say, and I'm sure the trans rights crowd would prefer she keep quiet. I see those displaced by "Lia" as the latest victims of the Woke War On Women.

 

 

I actually find this fascinating. If I were a female athlete, I would refuse to compete against the Lias out there. However, if women are willing to put up with this, fine by me. Go ahead. Compete against these men. Get your asses kicked. Watch your athletic records not only broken, but blown away. Let the men take your places at the podium, trophies, scholarships and endorsement deals. It's no skin off my teeth. Is Will Thomas competing as transgendered female Lia Thomas a good idea? You decide.