“Going to keep fighting,” Trans athlete Lia Thomas vows to fight against Donald Trump’s BAN on transgender athletes in women’s sports

Lia Thomas sparked massive controversy after becoming the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division 1 national championship in 2022.

“Going to keep fighting,” Trans athlete Lia Thomas vows to fight against Donald Trump’s BAN on transgender athletes in women’s sports

Lia Thomas and Donald Trump (Image via The Spun/Imago)

A few months after Donald Trump announced a massive ban, Lia Thomas broke her silence. The transgender swimmer has vowed to fight against the ban placed by the US President on them from competing in women sports.

Following his re-election to the office, Trump revealed his intentions to sign an order that would keep trans athletes like Thomas out of women’s sports. At the White House, the 78-year-old would do just that and passed the ban on this athletes.

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Before this, trans athletes were allowed to compete against women in sports tournaments. Thomas came into the spotlight when she became the first trans athlete to win the NCAA swimming title. One of the women whom she beat, Riley Gaines, then started advocating against her.

In the past two years, Gaines continued to fight against Thomas and urged the organizations to bring in some rules to keep trans athletes out of women’s sports. When Trump signed the order in February, Gaines was present at the White House alongside several women.

Thomas has now vowed to fight against this ban. The former University of Pennsylvania swimmer claimed that she will try much as she can to overturn this ban.

I am going to keep fighting as much as I am able to. In order to fight the battles we need to fight, we have to stick together and support each other.

Lia Thomas said on Zoom at the HiTOPS trans youth forum as per Outkick

Last year, the American swimmer suffered a massive setback from the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS). The body dismissed her appeal to overturn the ban placed by the World Aquatics in 2022 in order to compete at the 2024 Paris Games. As per the new rules, biological males could only compete in women’s swimming races if they completed their transition by the age of 12.

Former University of Kentucky swimmer slams Lia Thomas for feeling sad over ban on trans athletes

Following the ban on trans athletes from women’s sports, Lia Thomas claimed that she was left devastated and felt grief over her loss. A former University of Kentucky swimmer would then hit back at her and slam her on social media.

Lia Thomas
Lia Thomas (Image via Imago)

Taking to her X account, Riley Gaines’ former teammate Kaitlynn Wheeler lashed out at Thomas. The swimmer called Thomas by her former name and mocked the 25-year-old athlete for feeling sad over this ban from Donald Trump.

Lia (Will) Thomas: “I was just another college woman competing.” The audacity… Now he’s ‘devastated’ over being banned from women’s sports? Imagine being a female athlete who lost championships, scholarships, and opportunities to a male… oh wait, you can’t because you were the MAN taking them. Women’s sports are for WOMEN. Period.

Kaitlynn Wheeler on X

Wheeler was one of those who had to share a locker room with Thomas. Before the bill was passed by Donald Trump, Wheeler was one of the collegiate athletes who spoke against the trans swimmer before a Georgia state Senate committee.

Wheeler, along with Kylee Alons, a two-time NCAA champion, recounted the emotions they felt while sharing a locker room with Thomas without any prior notice from the NCAA. They claimed to feel uncomfortable getting changed in front of Thomas.

Lia Thomas’ rival Riley Gaines gets bill named after her following her efforts to keep trans athletes out of women sports

As Lia Thomas tries to fight to overturn the ban placed by Donald Trump, her rival, Riley Gaines achieved a major breakthrough. The former Kentucky swimmer saw a bill get named after her following her efforts to keep trans athletes out of women’s sports.

Lia Thomas and Riley Gaines
Lia Thomas and Riley Gaines (Image via The Boston Globe/Imago)

Gaines finished tied with Thomas during the 2022 NCAA Championship. Since then, Gaines had become an advocate for women’s sports and had raised her voice on this matter.

On Wednesday, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey signed the Riley Gaines Act. Not only does this act ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sporting activities, but it also bans them from using girls’ spaces, such as restrooms and locker rooms, in the context of school sports programs. Gaines would call this a massive ‘honor’ in her statement.

There’s no bigger honor than having your name attached to something as foundational and significant as the defense of women’s rights and biological reality.

Riley Gaines said in her statement as per Fox News

This has sparked some debate on social media. Several users pointed out that Gaines finished tied for fifth instead of first and called her out following the passing of this new act.