The father of one of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas' University of Pennsylvania teammates has spoken out in an interview where he said that his daughter and her teammates are coming to the realization that they won't be able to beat her.
This comes days after an anonymous member of the team also spoke out against Thomas, who has continued to dominate events in the Ivy League this season. It is unclear if the two are related.
This past weekend during an NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, Thomas won the Women's 100m and Women's 200m Freestyle races, although the margin's were far narrower than in previous races she won in 2021.
The father, who has also chosen to remain anonymous to avoid 'physical harm' any backlash could entail and has a 'medical background,' told Fox News that he believes there is no stopping Thomas from reaching the highest level.
'She is most likely going to be representing you and I and all other Americans at the Olympics,' he said.
A father of a member of the University of Pennsylvania women's swim team - who has chosen to remain anoynmous - has spoken out against his daughter's transgender teammate Lia Thomas
Thomas competes in the 200 meter freestyle during an NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard on Saturday
Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, right, towers over her teammates as she dries off after after warming up with the team before the NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard
Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, center, competes against Harvard's Erin Cavanagh, left, and Harvard's Felici Passadyn at the start of the women's 200 meter freestyle race during the an NCAA college swimming meet
Thomas came out as transgender in 2019 and under NCAA rules was eligible to switch from the men's team to the women's after taking a year of testosterone suppressants
He believes that other families don't speak out because they think there's 'nothing they can do about it' but he wants to, on behalf of the swimmers and their aspirations.
'Part of the reason these little girls get so excited about this is because they see themselves possibly being [at the Olympics],' he said. 'There's a shot that they can do it if they swim hard enough, if they work hard enough, they got it, they can do it. Anybody can do it.'
'But now what do you say to your daughter? You got Lia up on the blocks, taking a spot from a cisgender woman on the Olympic team,' he added. 'How do I tell my daughter that could be you one day? You can't. You can never be her.'
On Thursday, USA Swimming said that it will release a new policy 'shortly' on whether elite trans athletes, like Thomas who competes for an Ivy League school, can compete against biological women.
But her inclusion in the women's team has been slammed by her teammates, with one this weekend saying that she believes the NCAA are failing to protect her fellow teammates and competitors.
Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas speaks to her coach after winning the 200 meter freestyle during an NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard on Saturday
Transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, 22, won two of her races on Saturday although her win's were by narrower margins than of late
Although her previous wins sparked controversy having smashed several women's records in the pool Saturday's timings were similar to her competitors. The University of Pennsylvania says it will work with the NCAA under its newly adopted standards for transgender athletes
'The top people at NCAA, who are on the board of directors … they are not protecting women's rights,' the Penn swimmer said. 'Imagine if there was this kind of inequality in men's sports? Or someone found out about doping in a men's sport. It would be fixed in a blink of an eye. Everyone would be all over it. But because it's women, they don't care.'
The father says this lines up with the rest of her cisgender teammates, saying they are 'very upset.'
'My daughter hates it. She doesn't think it's fair,' he said, adding that while his daughter hasn't personally lost opportunities to compete, 'other girls have and will, because the coach is going to take the swimmers that score the most amount of points for the team.'
The anonymous father wanted to make it clear that he isn't transphobic, he's merely looking to protect the integrity of the sport.
'All the swimmers like Lia, she's a wonderful person and very nice,' he said, adding that Thomas has been 'nothing but polite' about the situation. 'Lia's not doing anything against the rules.'
Pennsylvania's Lia Thomas looks on as she celebrates senior day with her teammates during a swim meet back in January
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, center with teammates during warm up laps before a meet with Harvard
However, he believes there are hormonal differences in men and women that the NCAA must recognize.
'There are so many other hormones that are different in women and men, just like a protein like collagen,' he said. 'Collagen is responsible for strength in tendons and ligaments, and it's responsible for joint stiffness, it's responsible
