In reply to: Swimming World: NCAA needs to deal with the Lia Thomas posted by G.K.Chesterton
As a cis-gender female athlete (non-elite, but hey, I was an age-grouper for a long time) and a coach for girls' athletics, it's an interesting issue to have to try to work out. There has to be a way to ensure that all athletes are able to compete as the gender that they identify with, and yet ensure fairness for all athletes as well. It's such a difficult thing, and I am glad that there are smarter people than me working on it.
yesterday. It is effective immediately and modeled after the Olympic model.
I agree that a discussion about the rules regarding transgender participation in sports (i.e., testosterone level testing vs. hormone suppression) is important. It sounds like the NCAA is re-evaluating their current rules.
That being said, so long, Cynthia Millen, don't let the door hit you on the way out. Millen pulled out right before the Paralympics Swimming National Championships. Lia Thomas is not a member of USA Swimming, nor was she a participant at the U.S. Paralympic National Championships. USA Swimming has stricter rules than the NCAA regarding transgender participation (they follow IOC rules). So Millen choosing that moment was more about grandstanding than anything affecting the actual event she would have officiated.
Further, Millen purposefully and repeatedly misgendered Thomas during her Fox News interview, using he and him. If you can't use proper pronouns, which is not hard and the least one can do, then you don't belong in the discussion of how the sport handles this issue.