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Lia Thomas rocks new septum piercing as NBC slammed for 'WTF' op-ed favoring swimmer

The transgender swimmer will be seen competing in the women's 500 meter preliminary freestyle on March 17

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has reportedly got her septum pierced as she was seen showing it off while relaxing poolside on Wednesday, March 16. It has been said that the transgender swimmer, who has been controversy’s favorite child for some time, will be seen competing in the women's 500-meter preliminary freestyle on March 17.

Many have argued that Thomas has an unfair advantage over other female competitors because she was a boy before transitioning to a female. The Daily Mail reported that though the 22-year-old “isn't breaking any rules, and underwent the required year of hormone treatment in order to participate”, her “participation has remained controversial.”

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Meanwhile, an op-ed piece by NBC News written in favor of Thomas has been widely criticized. The essay, titled – ‘Lia Thomas and the long tradition of 'gender policing' female athletes’ – is written by Julie Compton, where she has compared the athlete to Olympic runner Helen Stephens, South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya, and Indian sprinter Dutee Chand.

But critics slammed the piece saying it was unfair to compare Thomas to those women athletes as the former was born male and later took the help of science to transform herself. A user tweeted, “The most egregious reversal: co-opting the patriarchal policing of female bodies in order to abolish women's boundaries and rights by presenting the male body as a marginalised, non-conforming female body, in a world where the male body is the default.” Another one corrected the author by saying, “So, previously doubt has been cast on whether competitors in women’s races have been women. Whereas in this case, there is no doubt whatsoever about the sex of this competitor.”

A person pointed out: “These are unrelated examples. Martina Navratilova is a female who dominated in a female sporting category. (She is also awesome.) Caster Semenya has 46 XY DSD; this means she is medically intersex. She is medically non-binary. Lia Thomas is a male.” The second one added, “WTF article. No comparison of how female athletes have been treated, to the red carpet given to male athletes, including those who ID as women. There is nothing that cannot be appropriated.”

Meanwhile, earlier in March, Thomas justified her place in the female swimmers’ team and said, “I’m a woman, just like anybody else on the team. I’ve always viewed myself as just a swimmer. It’s what I’ve done for so long; it’s what I love. I get into the water every day and do my best.” She also noted: “The very simple answer is that I’m not a man. I’m a woman, so I belong on the women’s team. Trans people deserve that same respect every other athlete gets.”

But the parents of her teammates are not convinced. In a letter sent to Penn and the Ivy League, they said: “At stake here is the integrity of women’s sports. The precedent being set—one in which women do not have a protected and equitable space to compete—is a direct threat to female athletes in every sport. What are the boundaries? How is this in line with the NCAA’s commitment to providing a fair environment for student-athletes?”

A Penn swimmer’s parent added: “We support Lia as a trans woman and hope she leads a happy and productive life, because that’s what she deserves. What we can’t do is stand by while she rewrites records and eliminates biological women from this sport. If we don’t speak up here, it’s going to happen in college after college. And then women’s sports, as we know it, will no longer exist in this country.”