Lia Thomas' ex-teammate pushes back on White House rhetoric
Paula Scanlan, former teammate of trans swimmer Lia Thomas, speaks out about competing against biological men on 'America's Newsroom' during National Women's Sports Week.
Paula Scanlan, a former teammate of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the University of Pennsylvania, pushed back against White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s claim that voicing concerns about women’s safety is "dangerous."
Jean-Pierre made the comment when pressed about parents’ concerns about daughters competing against biological males. Her claim was quickly disputed by Payton McNabb, who sustained a concussion and neck injury when a transgender volleyball player spiked the ball and hit her in the face.
With Monday marking the beginning of National Women’s Sports Week, Scanlan took the opportunity to voice her own perspective.
"I think what's dangerous is having biological men in women's spaces," Scanlan said on "America’s Newsroom" Monday. "Even if it's a small number like [Jean-Pierre]'s trying to suggest, it doesn't make it any less dangerous for women."
Scanlan clarified that she did not compete directly against or alongside Thomas, as the two swam in different events. But Scanlan said she felt the need to speak out after seeing how young female athletes were being impacted.
Riley Gaines, now a spokeswoman for the Independent Women’s Forum, famously tied Lia Thomas for fifth place in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships last year. (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
Scanlan said McNabb has not pursued athletics in college following her injury, which Scanlan described as "disheartening."
"Seeing all those young girls that could be affected that way… we can't let that happen," she said.
Scanlan said the UPenn didn’t address Thomas’ participation on the women’s team until after the season had begun and the story had gained national media attention. Scanlan said athletes were told not to speak to the press, that Thomas’ participation was non-negotiable and that there would be counseling services available.
She said team members were essentially silenced.
"That conversation was so scary and so frightening that we were afraid to even speak amongst ourselves. And at that point, you couldn't really raise any concerns because you didn't know who you could trust," she said.
"No one wants the win to feel tainted, especially since there is controversy about whether in the future this could be overridden or overruled. How will that change our team's records, our team scores? So obviously no one really wanted that. I think obviously nobody's in sports to win unfairly."
The University of Pennsylvania did not respond to a request to comment.
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas (C) smiles with Yale University swimmer Iszac Henig (right) after winning the 100 yard freestyle during the 2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships at Blodgett Pool on February 19, 2022 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
Scanlan said she has received some support from other teammates since she began speaking out, and she encouraged them to come forward as well.
Scanlan is now headed to Capitol Hill where she intends to advocate against transgender athletes’ ability to compete in women’s sports.
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"This week is the anniversary of passing Title IX, so I'm going to be around Capitol Hill making the statement clear that we need to properly defend Title IX and what it stands for," she said.
"I understand there are some people who are trying to rewrite that and put in individuals that identify as women to fall under Title IX, and I'm going to be there to stand against that."
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