Bombshell lawsuit drops as Donald Trump signs historic transgender ban
Three athletes have alleged they suffered emotional trauma as a result of transgender swimmer Lia Thomos being able to compete.
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Three former University of Pennsylvania women’s swimmers alleged they suffered emotional trauma by having transgender swimmer Lia Thomas as a teammate as they called for the Ivy League to expunge Thomas’ records, according to a lawsuit.
UPenn alum Grace Estabrook, Margot Kaczorowski and Ellen Holmquist filed the suit on Tuesday, a day before President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning biological men from competing in women’s sports.
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The three graduates allege their former school, Harvard University, the NCAA and the Ivy League Council of Presidents harassed, abused and violated federal laws when they allowed Thomas to compete on their team, according to the lawsuit obtained by Fox News, the New York Post reports.
“The UPenn administrators told the women that if anyone was struggling with accepting Thomas’ participation on the UPenn Women’s team, they should seek counselling and support from CAPS and the LBGTQ centre,” the lawsuit alleges.
Kaczorowski and Holmquist, who graduated in 2024, and Estabrook, a 2022 graduate, claimed they were “repeatedly emotionally traumatised” because Thomas was allowed to compete with them, a violation of Title IX.
They claim school officials pushed their pro-trans ideology on the women throughout the time Thomas was on the team.
Administrators allegedly invited the swimmers to a talk titled “Trans 101” where they believed if they had a problem with a “trans-identifying male” on their team, they had psychological problems and needed to see a counsellor.
The swimmers accused school officials of warning them against speaking out on Thomas or they’d be branded as a transphobe and risk not finding jobs in the future.
The lawsuit also accuses the four defendants of creating a culture of intimidation that forced young women to deny biology.
Thomas was not listed as a defendant in the filing.
Adding Thomas as a member to the women’s jeopardised the swimmers’ opportunities, privacy, and safety, the suit claims.
Thomas, who competed for the UPenn Men’s Swimming and Diving team from 2017 to 2020 was introduced to the women’s team as their incoming teammate in 2019.
Thomas came in first in the 500-, 200- and 100-yard freestyle races, setting pool and Ivy League records.
Thomas broke several women’s records at the Ivy League Championship meet in 2022, which was hosted at Harvard University.
The lawsuit asks the judge to declare Thomas was ineligible to compete in the women’s races and to vacate the records, The National News Desk reported.
The former Quaker swimmers accused school administrators, the NCAA, the Ivy League of co-ordinating together to ensure Thomas was eligible to compete on the women’s team for the 2021-2022 season.
Initially, the women were reportedly assured they wouldn’t be sharing a locker room with their new teammate, but the school changed policy and Thomas changed alongside them.
“When UPenn’s women’s swimmers returned to school in the fall of 2021 they were shocked to discover that Thomas was being allowed to use the women’s locker room at UPenn and would be allowed to use the women’s locker room at swim meets,” the lawsuit alleges.
“Margot [Kaczorowski] only learned that Thomas had been authorised by UPenn to use the women’s locker room when she walked in the women’s locker room to find Thomas in front of her changing his clothing,” the suit added.
Kaczorowski allegedly confronted her coach Mike Schnur after the locker room incident.
“I know it’s wrong but there’s nothing I can do,” Schnur reportedly told her, according to the outlet.
The coach warned the women that he would be fired if he spoke out about Thomas’ use of the women’s locker room.
Trump’s executive order, signed on February 5 pressures schools to comply with his order by threatening to pull federal funding.
“From now on, women’s sports will be only for women,” Trump said during the signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House.
“If you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding,” he added.
Donald Trump puts pressure on Olympics after transgender ban
It comes as Trump also said he would be pushing the International Olympic Committee to change its rules on transgender athletes before the Games return to American soil in 2028 in Los Angeles.
The US President said he had ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “make it clear” to the IOC that “we want them to change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject.”
Trump added that he had directed Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem to deny visa applications “made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes to try and get into the Games.”
New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was the first openly transgender women to compete at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Hubbard finished last in her group at the Olympics.
The IOC has largely stayed out of the transgender debate, allowing the governing bodies for each spot to set guidelines around gender participation.
– with news.com.au
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
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