GMA gives trans swimming champ chance to hit back at haters: ‘I don’t need anybody’s permission’

On Tuesday morning, ABC’s Good Morning America ran an interview with trans female swimmer and NCAA women’s swimming champion Lia Thomas, letting her break her silence and push back against those that say her victory threatens women’s sports.

On Tuesday morning, ABC’s Good Morning America ran an exclusive interview with trans female swimmer and NCAA women’s swimming champion Lia Thomas, giving her the opportunity to break her silence and push back against those that say her victory threatens women’s sports.

GMA’s sympathetic sit down between journalist Juju Chang and Thomas began with a recap on the biological male "making history in March as the first known transgender athlete to win a Division 1 national title."

The segment launched into the controversy surrounding her win, Chang reported, "But her athletic achievements on the women’s swim team igniting fierce debate over fairness in women’s sports."

The interview briefly showed former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner as well as LGBTQ activist and former tennis great Martina Navritilova speaking out against Thomas, with both saying her win is "not fair."

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The ABC host teed up Thomas to hit back at those responses. The college swimmer told the interviewer, "I knew there would be scrutiny against me if I competed as a woman. I was prepared for that, but I also don’t need anybody’s permission to be myself and to do the sport that I love."

The interview explained Thomas’s time growing up and recounted her early love of swimming as well as her early struggles with gender dysphoria.

Lia Thomas looks on after winning the Women's 500 Yard Freestyle during the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's