As the debate over Lia Thomas’ accomplishments as a transgender athlete continues, one academic is coming to her defense as trailblazer that should be remembered positively.
In an opinion piece for NBC News, professor Cheryl Cooky of Purdue University argued that Thomas’ success should be celebrated, not scorned. Cooky drew comparisons to other trailblazing athletes such as Jackie Robinson, Jason Collins and Sarah Fuller.
Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, Collins was the first openly-gay NBA player and Fuller was the first woman to score in a Power Five football game.
Cooky pointed out that all of those barrier-breakers experienced extreme resistance from fans and audiences at the time. In the case of Lia Thomas, Cooky believes that she should be embraced for her unique place in sports history.
“Change in sports doesn’t happen overnight, nor is it linear. Major professional sports leagues like MLB and the NFL resisted racially integrating their player rosters. It was not until 1962 that the last NFL team, the Washington Commanders, would racially integrate. Moreover, athletes of color played in the NFL in the early years of the league, only to be excluded as the league developed. Today, athletes like Jackie Robinson are celebrated as “breaking the color barrier” in sports, although that narrative often requires sanitizing, simplifying or rewriting a more complex, nuanced and contradictory history.”
But the argument isn’t strictly limited to comparisons with legendary athletes like Jackie Robinson. Professor Cooky argues that there is a lack of scientific evidence to demonstrate a link between gender-specific hormones and athletic performance.
“Those who oppose the inclusion of trans women in women’s sports argue that trans women have an unfair competitive advantage and that as a result they will take away opportunities from cisgender athletes. According to the NCAA, these assumptions are not well founded. Moreover, there is a lack of scientific evidence that conclusively demonstrates a direct link between testosterone and athletic performance.
“Athletic performance is influenced by a number of factors, including hormones, but also other things like coaching and training, psychological makeup of an athlete, access to resources and equipment, among others. Attempts to ban or limit the participation of trans athletes are not based on science. Instead, they are rooted in societal and cultural definitions of what constitutes gender or what defines a woman. Such questions matter because sports are organized based on the belief of natural differences between men and women, and they are sex-segregated as a result. Yet, this ultimately leads to the discrimination of athletes like Thomas.”
It’s also worth noting that Lia Thomas was a top-flight swimmer before transitioning to a woman. The oft-repeated line that Thomas ranked outside of the top 400 among men before being ranked top 10 among women lacks context.
You ever hear how Lia Thomas “was a 400th rank swimmer and now is #1”?
This is a lie and deception.
Lia Thomas started HRT in May 2019. She competed on the guys team ON HRT, hence her low numbers.
In 2018, she had top 8 finishes in 500, 1000, adn 1650-yard freestyle.
— Erin, Trail Mom (@ErinInTheMorn) March 20, 2022
Thomas’ collegiate career came to an end this past weekend, when she won the 500 meter freestyle at the NCAA Championships.
The post Professor Argues Lia Thomas Is Similar To Legendary Athlete appeared first on The Spun.