A University of Pennsylvania student publicly shared for the first time her story about competing on the same team as transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Paula Scanlan, part of the school’s 2021-2022 Women’s Swimming and Diving Roster, told The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh that she wanted to join former University of Kentucky swimming star Riley Gaines in “fighting for women and girls across the country.”
Walsh, who posted the video of their discussion to Twitter on Monday, noted that Scanlan previously appeared anonymously in his hit documentary “What Is A Woman?” that was released last year.
A teammate of Lia Thomas appeared in What Is A Woman anonymously. A few days ago she came to us and said she is ready to come out publicly and tell her story. I had a longer conversation with Paula where she revealed a number of details that weren't covered in the film. Watch: pic.twitter.com/wlknGmslJC
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 5, 2023
“A few days ago she came to us and said she is ready to come out publicly and tell her story,” Walsh said in a tweet. “I had a longer conversation with Paula where she revealed a number of details that weren’t covered in the film.”
Thomas, a male who began hormone replacement therapy in May 2019, switched from University of Pennsylvania’s men’s team to the women’s squad in 2021 after identifying as a female and won a NCAA Division I national championship in the 500-yard freestyle.
The story of Thomas has been at the forefront of a national conversation about female athletes grappling with an unfair disadvantage in sports and uncomfortable situations in which biological females have to share a locker room with someone who is a biological male.
Gaines, who raced against Thomas, has emerged as an activist who champions female athletes after watching them lose out on opportunities because they were “displaced” by a male competitor.
“I’m speaking for every female athlete, not just myself,” Gaines said during an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan in April. “I’m done competing. This isn’t about me. But I know what’s at stake if someone doesn’t use their voice. I have a younger sister. I just got married. I can only hope one day that I have a daughter and I can’t imagine being in this position and not fighting for them.”