Transgender swimmer's NCAA championship win 'just not right,' competitor's parents say

ATLANTA – The parents of a female swimmer competing against Lia Thomas in the NCAA championship criticized the transgender athlete's win as unfair.

"It’s just not right," the father of an Auburn University swimmer told Fox News. "It’s taking opportunity away from females that have worked very, very hard for a long, long time, even before college, to get in this position."

The swimmer's mother said she and her husband "do not support a biological male swimming in the women’s championship meet"

"It is an unfair advantage," she added.

Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania swimmer who competed on the school's men's team before this season, won the 500-yard freestyle race at the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships Thursday, becoming the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship in any sport. 

LIA THOMAS WIN AT NCAA WOMEN'S SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ATLANTA DRAWS PROTESTERS

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 17:  University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas swims in the 500 Freestyle finals during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia.  (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Debate over whether transgender women should be allowed to compete against biological females intensified throughout the season.

"They asked how he felt about winning, when really, how did the rest of the women feel about having the stress of dealing with this, knowing they have to swim against him?" the Auburn father said, referring to Thomas.

"I think everybody's gotta be civil about it," he continued. "I call him Will Thomas. He's a human, we should respect that and what he wants to do with his life, but this isn't the place to do it."