Parents of the University of Pennsylvania women's swim team are unhappy over male-born transgender athlete Lia Thomas' abilities to break several records in the female swim category- so much so that they wrote a letter to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), requesting it to change its rules on allowing transgender athletes to compete in female sports.
The Daily Mail reported that parents of 10 swimmers sent a letter to the NCCA, the Ivy League and University of Pennsylvania officials, in which they lamented, "At stake here is the integrity of women's sports."
"The precedent being set - one in which women do not have a protected and equitable space to compete - is a direct threat to female athletes in every sport," the parents of UPenn women's swim team argued in the letter. "What are the boundaries? How is this in line with the NCAA's commitment to providing a fair environment for student-athletes?"
The parents also argued in the letter that the NCAA was responsible in addressing the matter "with an official statement." They alleged that it was "unfair and irresponsible' for the NCAA to let the media "dictate the narrative" when it comes to the transgender athlete's participation in the sport and their subsequent breaking of women's records.
Earlier this month, Thomas, the male-born transgender swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, broke women's records after finishing with a winning time of 4:34.06, making for a new Ivy League record. The trans athlete also broke records with a seven-second win in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:41.93, making the athlete the fastest to finish in the entire U.S. The trans athlete also set a new program, meet, and pool record in the 1650-yard freestyle, finishing with a time of 15:59.71.
Thomas previously competed as a man for two full seasons at UPenn before transitioning.
Thomas' record-breaking performance has drawn the ire of the female-born athletes in the women's team, who were told not to speak out about the issue. Now, parents are taking matters into their own hands with a letter to the NCAA asking them to review their transgender policies.
Breitbart reported that one parent who spoke out on the condition of anonymity, argued that while "transgender people have a right to compete" in sports, they 'need to have their own league" in order to maintain fairness in every sport. She argued, "Being fair to one group of people shouldn't take rights away from another group, and that's what's happening here."
According to Fox News, the NCAA has not yet responded to the letter, but the University of Pennsylvania did respond, underscoring their commitment to "being a welcoming and inclusive environment for all our student-athletes." Instead of addressing the issue of unfairness, however, the University of Pennsylvania chose instead to direct the parents to their "robust resources."
This echoes the NCAA's April statement in which they underscored their commitment in promoting "inclusion and fairness...for all student-athletes," not taking into consideration that testosterone suppression treatments are not the only factors that can ever level the playing field between biological men and biological women in sports.
