Parents of Ivy League swimmers and a young female swimmer pushed out of contention following biologically male, trans swimmer Lia Thomas’ dominance last week have both penned letters to the NCAA expressing concerns that speak eloquently to a cultural shift that goes well beyond the issue in university pools.
There’s been a great deal of worry that Thomas — who’s been wracking up commanding wins over female competitors — might be on the receiving end of insensitivity, to the degree that swimmers were apparently warned not to complain about the situation they faced, up to the point that young women were quietly enduring a naked male body in the locker room.
What about the Title IX-protected swimmers?
Parents of young Ivy League swimmers have written a letter to the NCAA asking exactly what the association thinks they’re doing to protect those girls and athletes.
As parents of Ivy League swimmers, from men’s and women’s teams across the league, we have witnessed firsthand the utter abandonment of women and girls this year.
Most of our community is mad at us. It is unfair to swimmers, parents, coaches, and other rational people. The consent of female swimmers has never been given. Many swimmers expressed their disapproval. They were surprised at the response.
Be quiet. It was a new way of thinking. “Transwomen are women” no exceptions; the girls’ concerns: “transphobic.”
They bravely confronted coaches and spoke about the unfair treatment they received in the swimming pool. The locker rooms had male nudity which made them feel uncomfortable. They went to their sports departments and the administration after being turned down. Then they were again turned down.
Athletic associations ask cautiously: What is the best way to balance fairness with inclusion? They also ask scientists for the exact level at which male bodies need to be impaired in order to win fair competition against females.
They are not asking the right questions. They are degrading and misogynistic for women, as well as dehumanizing. It is impossible to find the right balance between fairness and injustice. Fairness is something women deserve, but they shouldn’t be forced to take responsibility for the mental well-being of their fellow citizens. An unmarried male body can’t become a married body. One woman is not considered a disadvantage man.
Women’s boundaries, women’s bodies, their fair treatment, respect and dignity are not up for reimagining by men. In social change, women and girls should not be considered as collateral damage.
It’s time to defend women.
On the heels of that massive, the NCAA received another letter, this one from a swimmer named Reka Gyorgy, who was eliminated from further competition by Thomas’ win last Thursday — Gyorgy came in 17th in a field where only 16 advance.
“With all due respect, I would like to address something that is a problem in our sport right now and hurting athletes, especially female swimmers,” the letter read. “Everyone has heard and known about transgender swimmer, Lia Thomas, and her case including all the issues and concerns that her situation brought into our sport. I’d like to point out that I respect and fully stand with Lia Thomas; I am convinced that she is no different than me or any other D1 swimmer who has woken up at 5am her entire life for morning practice. For a competition, she has made sacrifices for family holidays and vacations. She is pushing herself beyond her limits to become the best possible athlete. It is what she passionately does and it is a right. However, I do not like the NCAA rules she uses to challenge us biologically females.
“I’m writing this letter right now in hopes that the NCAA will open their eyes and change these rules in the future. It doesn’t promote our sport in a good way and I think it is disrespectful against the biologically female swimmers who are competing in the NCAA.”
…
“It is the result of the NCAA and their lack of interest in protecting their athletes. Ask the NCAA to take some time and think about the lives of all biological women involved in swimming. Try to picture how they feel, if only they could be there. Make the right changes for our sport and for a better future in swimming,” the letter concluded.
While the superficial issue at hand is the conflict between gender at birth and declared gender — and if the mere declaration of gender change is enough to allow fair competition — these letters also hit on something that’s become a much larger cultural issue, one on heightened display during the pandemic.
“[T]hey should not be asked to shoulder the mental health of others at their own expense,” the parents write.
It’s debateable depending on your aversion to risk, but isn’t that exactly what the world was asked to do during the pandemic once there was enough evidence that some people were at lower risk of serious illness? Do you think it is possible that all of us were mandated to vaccine and mask the fears of people who may be hypochondriacs?
Gyorgy’s letter gets at the issue in a slightly different way: weren’t these ladies harmed when the NCAA failed to protect them? Did the virus cause the health of the uninfected to lose their jobs, friends, and be unable to socialize?
This letter highlights a recent cultural trend to deliberately put the well-being of the unwell at risk for the good of the less-well. They almost offered them up as a sacrifice.
Can a culture which asks the people to be silent and fear for their safety have any future? Maybe it depends on how we respond to the NCAA’s young female swimmers.
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