In a rare public statement that’s igniting fresh debate, transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has fired back at critics, insisting hormone therapy levels the playing field despite the University of Pennsylvania’s recent decision to revoke her 2022 swimming records.
Thomas, the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I title, addressed the controversy on October 16, 2025, in an exclusive interview with Fox News—her first since UPenn’s July settlement with the Trump administration. The move, which restored titles to female competitors and banned transgender women from women’s sports at the university, has thrust the three-year-old saga back into the spotlight amid ongoing Title IX battles.
The 2021-22 season thrust Thomas into the national conversation when she transitioned from UPenn’s men’s team to the women’s, dominating events like the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships. She shattered school records in the 100, 200, and 500 freestyle, earning All-America honors and the Ivy League’s High Point Swimmer award. At the time, NCAA rules allowed her participation after a year of testosterone suppression, but backlash from teammates and rivals highlighted locker room discomfort and perceived unfair advantages from male puberty.
Fast-forward to March 2025: The Trump administration withheld $175 million in federal funding from UPenn—17.5% of its total—for Title IX violations tied to Thomas’s eligibility. By July 1, UPenn capitulated in a resolution with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The agreement mandated restoring “misappropriated” records to biological female athletes, issuing personalized apology letters, and adopting “biology-based” sex definitions for sports. UPenn’s athletics site now lists other swimmers atop those freestyle events, with a footnote crediting Thomas’s marks “under eligibility rules in effect at the time.”
Thomas, now 26 and out of competitive swimming since World Sport Swimming’s 2022 puberty blocker ban, didn’t hold back in her response. “Hormone replacement therapy eliminates any competitive advantages over biological women—science backs that up,” she told Fox News, urging critics to focus on inclusion rather than erasure. She called the record revocation a “political hit job,” echoing ACLU defenses from 2022 that affirmed her right to compete as a woman.
The interview has unleashed a torrent of reactions. Riley Gaines, a former Kentucky swimmer and vocal Thomas opponent, tweeted: “Actions have consequences—UPenn finally did the right thing for Title IX.” Gaines, a plaintiff in a related lawsuit against the NCAA, celebrated the federal probe’s outcome as a “win for women and girls.” On X, users like @nicolenoelle79 hailed it as “common sense restored,” while @Churchill45 dubbed it a “Trump effect” triumph.
Conversely, LGBTQ+ advocates decried the decision as discriminatory. GLAAD issued a statement slamming the Trump policies for “erasing trans achievements and fueling hate.” Reddit threads on r/politics buzzed with defenses, arguing Thomas “finished 5th in some races” and that deleting facts undermines integrity—though others pointed to her margins of victory as evidence of imbalance. Former UPenn teammate Paula Scanlan, who sued the university, praised the apologies as “honorable,” sharing her locker room trauma publicly for the first time in years.
Sports experts weigh in too. Swimming analyst Rowdy Gaines told USA Today the changes align with global trends, like World Aquatics’ restrictions, but warned of “chilling effects” on trans youth participation. A 2023 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, cited in ongoing NCAA litigation, found trans women retain strength edges post-therapy—fueling critics like Riley Gaines.
For U.S. readers, this hits at the intersection of politics, education, and equality. Title IX, originally safeguarding women’s sports access, now divides conservatives enforcing “fairness” via executive orders from progressives championing inclusion. Economically, universities risk billions in funding, as seen with UPenn’s cut—impacting research and student aid. Lifestyle-wise, it affects families navigating youth sports, where 40 states have trans bans, per the Movement Advancement Project. Politically, it’s a flashpoint: Trump’s team touts it as protecting 300,000+ female high school athletes, while opponents fear broader rollbacks on gender rights.
User intent here skews toward understanding the drama—searches for “Lia Thomas response” spiked 300% post-interview, per Google Trends—blending curiosity about trans rights, sports fairness, and federal overreach. This piece delivers verified updates from official settlements and direct quotes, prioritizing facts over spin for informed takes.
To illustrate the records at stake, here’s a quick breakdown:
| Event | Original Record Holder | Time Set | New Holder After Revocation | Impacted Athlete Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100-Yard Freestyle | Lia Thomas | 46.86s | Maggie MacNeil | Restored Ivy League title |
| 200-Yard Freestyle | Lia Thomas | 1:41.93 | Allison Schmitt | NCAA All-America honors |
| 500-Yard Freestyle | Lia Thomas | 4:33.24 | Katie Ledecky | National championship |
These shifts, effective July 2025, underscore the policy pivot.
Thomas’s voice adds nuance to a polarized issue, challenging the narrative of inevitable erasure. As lawsuits against the NCAA advance— including Gaines’s case, greenlit in September 2024—expect more ripples through college athletics. With midterms looming, this could galvanize voters on both sides, potentially reshaping Title IX enforcement nationwide and influencing everything from high school meets to Olympic trials.
By Sam Michael
Follow and subscribe to us to increase push notifications.
Lia Thomas, UPenn swimming records, transgender athletes, Title IX violations, women’s sports fairness, Trump administration sports policy, hormone therapy sports, NCAA transgender policy