A female former college swimmer has demanded an apology after she was “forced to undress” in front of her male teammate “Lia” Thomas.
Paula Scanlan says she was forced to share a locker room “with him 18 times a week.”
The male swimmer, real name William Thomas, was able to compete on the female team and share changing facilities with teenage girls because he claims to be a “transgender woman.”
After failing to compete on the men’s team, Thomas switched to compete against females and became a “champion.”
However, many of his real female teammates were upset about having a naked man in their locker room.
Earlier this week, Thomas failed in his challenge to be allowed to compete in the Olympics on the women’s team.
Thomas lost his legal battle to have the rules barring his potential involvement overturned.
Scanlan, who used to swim at the University of Pennsylvania alongside Thomas, took to social media shortly after the verdict was revealed to demand an apology.
Scanlan shared the New York Post’s story announcing that the transgender athlete would be unable to compete at the Olympics.
In a post on X, Scanlan wrote: “Okay, but is anyone going to apologize for forcing us to undress with him 18 times a week?”
The post quickly went viral.
okay, but is anyone going to apologize for forcing us to undress with him 18 times a week? 🤔 https://t.co/KKLq1Akelv
— Paula Scanlan (@PaulaYScanlan) June 14, 2024
This is not the first time Scanlan has spoken out against Thomas’ involvement in women’s sports.
She previously lashed out at the Democratic Party for putting the “trans rights” of men above women’s privacy and safety.
While testifying before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government last July, Scanlan put forward the issue of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
She urged lawmakers to put women’s physical safety first when making decisions about women-only spaces like locker rooms.
Scanlan confessed to having “nightmares for weeks” after sharing a locker room with male athletes.
Having reportedly been a victim of sexual assault in a bathroom as a 16-year-old, Scanlan shared that Thomas’s presence brought up previous trauma from her adolescence.
Speaking to the New York Post, Scanlan said:
“In general, bathrooms were a place I felt really uncomfortable.
“I would just kind of relive the situation that I went through when I was 16.
“I would be at my locker and then all of a sudden hear a masculine voice, and I would just jump.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, somebody got in here.’
“It’s incredibly vulnerable.
“I had nightmares for weeks about men being there while we were dressing.”
Critics of Thomas have even included those in the transgender community.
Olympic champion Caitlyn Jenner has publicly asserted that he does not agree with Thomas being allowed to compete as a “woman.”
“I’ve been consistent in how I’ve approached transgender athletes and it depends on the sport,” Jenner told Fox News earlier this year.
“Every sport is different.
“Obviously, we saw with Lia Thomas she had gone through male puberty, bigger cardiovascular system, it just wasn’t fair.”
While Thomas’s college career is over, Scanlan still believes it’s an important topic, especially as he is now pushing to get a place on the women’s Olympic team.
Scanlan warns there will be similar instances in the future with amateur and professional sports, with other young girls facing the same trauma she endured in college.
“If there had been a man on my team in high school, I would have quit, and I would literally have nothing,” she told The Post.
“I would never have gotten into a good college.
“My entire life would have been derailed.
“If even one girl is discouraged from competing in sports over this, we’ve failed,” Scanlan added.
“It’s so important to give girls these same opportunities.”
