THE ONGOING CONTROVERSY REGARDING TRANSGENDER ATHLETES: THE CURIOUS CASE OF UPENN SWIMMER LIA THOMAS

By my count, we’ve devoted  at least 4 or 5 shows over the last few years to the difficult issue of transgender athletes, and how complicated this topic is when it comes to finding a fair and reasonable solution for all involved.

Now, I know that some sports shows are just beginning to either discover this issue, or perhaps they aren’t aware that this has been a concern for some time.

But regardless, taking a larger perspective, I do think it’s safe to say that this controversy is not going to go away soon. And as such, as I mentioned in my tweets this week, the leaders of HS and collegiate sports are going to have to sit down and try and come up with some new solutions that is fair to all the athletes.

Of course, the latest headline in this discussion is this case of senior swimmer at the Univ of PA, Lia Thomas, who over the last few weeks, has set all sorts of records in her swim meets. She’s been so good and so dominant that if she continues with her accomplishments, she’s on her way to being named as an All-American in NCAA swimming.

The debate, of course, focuses on the fact as recently as two years ago, Lia Thomas – then a male - was on the men’s team at Penn, and competing as a male. And by all accounts, he was a pretty good swimmer.

Under a long-standing NCAA rule, she followed the medical rules and policy about changing one’s gender, and in order to compete, she had to sit out a full year while she underwent a systemic routine of drugs that suppressed her body from generating testosterone while undergoing sex change surgery.

Once she had completed all the requirements, Lia Thomas was then cleared to compete as a woman in NCAA swim meets.

But detractors have claimed the NCAA policy is both outdated and shortsighted; that is, because Thomas had already matured through the key developmental years as a teenager, that Thomas’s body fully benefited from all the traditional male  growth effects, that is, he’s big, strong, and has built up strong muscles to support his male athletic body.

Critics point out that just because he has transitioned to being a woman in college does NOT necessarily negate his physical size and muscle strength. As such, he now has become a real force in NCAA women’s swimming.

That’s the basis of this current debate when it comes to transgender athletes. On today’s show, I do a little history going back to the case of Dr. Renee Richards, the tennis player, who transitioned after a being a star member of the Yale’s men’s tennis team, and talk about the parallels with Lia Thomas’ situation. Take a listen: The Sports Edge with Rick Wolff