Lia Thomas speaks for first time since UPenn agreed to Trump admin resolution to protect women's sports

ICONS founders Kim Jones and Marshi Smith recount their experience during the 2022 women's swimming season, which centered on Lia Thomas, and how that led them to founding a group to fight the issues.

Prominent transgender swimmer Lia Thomas spoke in an interview for the first time since the University of Pennsylvania agreed with President Donald Trump's administration in June to strip the athlete's swimming records from the women's program archives, and adopt a policy to keep biological males out of women's sports. 

In an interview with WHYY, Thomas did not directly address the agreement with the Trump administration, but did send a message to those who don't believe biological male trans athletes should compete in the women's category.

"You don't get to pick and choose when you see me as a woman. You don't get to say, ‘You can be a woman in these situations, but not in these,' because you would never do that to a cis woman," Thomas said. "But for trans women, a lot of people think ‘Oh, it’s okay for me to be the arbiter and pick and choose when I see them as women.'"

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University of Pennsylvania transgender athlete Lia Thomas swims in a preliminary heat for the 500-meter freestyle at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday, March 17, 2022, at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Thomas gave the response when asked how the athlete would address people who aren't against rights for transgender people, but are in support of protecting women's sports from male inclusion. Thomas went on to suggest that Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) prevents trans athletes from having a competitive advantage.

"There are massive losses to muscle mass, strength