Breaking her silence and championing for fairness, Paula Scanlan, a former teammate of Lia Thomas at the University of Pennsylvania, has taken a stance against biological males competing in women’s sports.
A veteran swimmer herself, Scanlan has courageously brought to light the escalating concerns among female athletes like Riley Gaines.
Sitting with Laura Ingraham on her show “The Ingraham Angle,” Scanlan shared why she felt this was the right time to raise her voice.
The transformation she observed in the sporting landscape over the past year, she said, was significant. “I thought maybe this won’t continue to happen to other sports, maybe swimming is the exception. I’ve seen this blow up. There are cases of the track people in California. There is cycling, skateboarding, every single women’s sport imaginable has been infiltrated by biological males competing on the women’s team.”
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Courageously, Scanlan has chosen to brave the potential backlash in order to advocate for a fair playing field in women’s sports. “I decided that… it’s okay if I get some hate and I shouldn’t be scared anymore because I need to use my voice and encourage other women to speak out against unfair competition,” she professed.
Recalling her silent protest, she noted that her concerns about the locker room situation and the overall fairness of Lia Thomas‘ participation in women’s swimming were dismissed as transphobia.
“There was a lot of things we couldn’t talk about that were very concerning, like a locker room situation. If you even brought up concerns about it, you were transphobic,” she explained.
Emphasizing the stifling of her concerns, Scanlan recounted, “If you even bring up the fact that Lia swimming might not be fair, you were immediately shut down, as being called a hateful person.”
Now ready to fight the good fight, alongside former college swimmer Riley Gaines, Scanlan is eager to stand up for women and girls across the nation.
Her journey, however, wasn’t without its challenges. She revealed that the University of Pennsylvania’s athletic department had issued a stern warning against speaking to the media, declaring Thomas’ spot on the women’s team as “non-negotiable.”
The consequences of that meeting left a chilling effect. “After that meeting, they really scared us. It was scary, and I was petrified,” she confessed, adding the detrimental impact on their free speech and expression.
The University of Pennsylvania continues to refrain from comment.
Scanlan’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. She expressed gratitude for the support she has received, “I have had a few teammates reach out and thank me for what I’m doing,” and hoped that her stand might inspire more female athletes to voice their concerns for fair competition.
Meanwhile, in April, Lia Thomas appeared on Schuylar Bailar’s “Dear Schuyler” podcast, boasting about his accomplishments as a trans athlete. In a controversial statement, he labeled those challenging the fairness of biological males competing against naturally-born female athletes as “transphobic.”
Scanlan, however, has boldly contested such sentiments, reiterating that acknowledging the basic biological differences between males and females is not an act of transphobia.
“Frankly, before any of this happened, I would never actually have considered myself a feminist,” she stated, “I just thought that I understood basic biological realities and I believe in the truth, and I never thought any of that would be considered transphobic or feminism or non-feminism.”
Emphasizing the need for unity and collective action, Scanlan urged girls and women to safeguard their sports from unfair competition. “Definitely speak out as early as you can about it,” she appealed.
“Raise concerns, make the environments that are letting this happen aware that you’re not okay with it,” she continued. “I think we really need to come together and use our voices. Get as many people as you can talking about this.”
Scanlan envisions a future where the voices of the many who share her sentiments become an unstoppable force. “I think if we’ve really got the big crowd behind us, they can’t silence us any longer,” she declared.
