The transgender swimmer Lia Thomas is nominated for the woman of the year award. And people are not happy with it. Especially fellow sportswomen that are in their sport for years and have marked incredibly successful careers.
Martina Navratilova is one of the people that is opposing this nomination as well. She has been vocal about it and quite frankly, she has a point.
Martina Navratilova Says The NCAA Woman Of The Year Award Is Pointless After Nominating A Transgender person – Are There No Biological Women Left?
‘Not enough fabulous biological women athletes, NCAA?!? What is wrong with you?!!!!!!!?’ – Navratilova tweets.
‘Being the REAL girl in the photo, and also University of Kentucky’s nominee for NCAA WOTY, [t]his is yet another slap in the face to women. Firstly, a female national title and now nominated for the pinnacle award in collegiate athletics. The NCAA has made this award worthless.’ – Riley Gaines tweets and sides with Navratilova on the matter. “This award combines athletic performance with academics, service, and character. What character has Thomas shown other than sheer selfishness and entitlement? The disrespect and disregard for the other female athletes in Thomas’ interviews is eye-opening.”
Riley Gaines is a current competitor in swimming and recently has lived through a very strange moment. She shares a fifth place in the women’s 200-meter NCAA championship with Thomas. She swam for the exact same time as Thomas, making it a tie. After the session ended she was told by the event organizer that she will not receive a trophy and that it will be delivered to Thomas instead.
As you’d imagine, she is furious about it. But she is not the only one. Navratilova, who is a world reputable tennis player and who won many major titles in women’s tennis, backs her up and shares a tweet as well.
Thomas is one of only 577 nominees out of a total 223 000 female students in the NCAA. But, this award is to be given to “female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in their community, in athletics, and in academics throughout their college careers.” In the past it was clear. The athletes that will receive this award need to be female, as the first condition to be eligible for nomination. Nowadays, everything is upside down.
Past month, FINA, the international federation for administering international competitions in water sports ruled out transgender people from competing at an Elite level. As a result, this represents a slap to the committee’s face by NCAA.
‘They’ve made it pretty clear, if you speak up about it, your life will be over in some way. While they’ll blast you all over the internet as a transphobe, you’ll never be able to get a job,’ – an anonymous women athlete says for Matt Welsh’s documentary.
Please give this a serious thought and answer. Should they allow transgender people to compete against biological females?
