16 of Lia Thomas' teammates urge Penn, Ivy League not to fight new USA Swimming rules on transgender athletes

Sixteen of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas' female teammates on the University of Pennsylvania team sent a letter to Penn and to the Ivy League, urging schools not to contest the new USA Swimming rules on competition for transgender athletes.

"We fully support Lia Thomas in her decision to affirm her gender identity and to transition from a man to a woman," the swimmers wrote. "Lia has every right to live her life authentically. However, we also recognize that when it comes to sports competition, that the biology of sex is a separate issue from someone’s gender identity." 

"Biologically, Lia holds an unfair advantage over competition in the women’s category, as evidenced by her rankings that have bounced from #462 as a male to #1 as a female," they added. "If she were to be eligible to compete against us, she could now break Penn, Ivy, and NCAA Women’s Swimming records; feats she could never have done as a male athlete."