Teammate of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas speaks out claiming she was told she would ‘regret’ speaking to media

A former teammate of Lia Thomas has revealed “startling” details of went on behind the scenes at the University of Pennsylvania.

A former teammate of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has spoken out about the intimidation women faced by officials at the University of Pennsylvania.

Paula Scanlan told Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh that the university tried to hush up complaints about Thomas, who was born male, joining the female swim team.

Scanlan said staff “wanted them to be quiet” and her teammates were told “they were the issue” if they objected.

Thomas began hormone replacement therapy in 2019 and transitioned from the University of Pennsylvania men’s team to the women’s team in 2021.

Speaking to Walsh, Scanlan said she wanted to join former University of Kentucky swimming star Riley Gaines in advocating for the rights of women and girls across the nation.

Scanlan previously appeared anonymously in Walsh’s gender and transgender documentary “What Is A Woman?” released last year.

Walsh said that Scanlan had approached him a few days ago saying she was ready to publicly share her story.

During their conversation, which was posted to Twitter, Scanlan provided additional details that were not covered in the documentary.

“This is about fighting for women and girls across the country,” she said.

Scanlan revealed that officials at the university warned her and other young women they “would regret” speaking to the media about the ordeal.

She spoke on how some teammates felt intimidated by having to change out of their clothes in front of Thomas, who was using the women’s changeroom at the time.

“We had a team meeting led by the leader of the men’s team in 2019 about how Will Thomas would be joining the women’s team,” she said.

“I felt shocked and a little uncomfortable, but everyone around me looked excited for someone in the men’s team to be ‘living their true self’.

“I can’t speak for everyone. But I think it was a lot of shock, a lot of uncomfortable smiling. “But that’s just my interpretation.”

Scanlan said the women’s team were not given a chance to raise questions about Thomas joining the team, and were instead forced to accept the University’s decision in a meeting with him present.

Thank you Matt for letting me tell my story. https://t.co/uj6A3zlSMn

— Paula Scanlan (@PaulaYScanlan) June 5, 2023

She also spoke about one female athlete who was forced out of the team because Thomas had quickly dominated the competition.

She said the athlete, who was in tears when she approached the Athletic Department, returned “completely on-board with Thomas competing like it was some magical, beautiful thing”.

“She came back from the meeting and suddenly thought we were apart of some groundbreaking team,” Scanlan said.

“There was something going on at the Athletic Department that wanted to keep us quiet.

“I was like, ‘this is getting scary’.

“Two days later they had a formal meeting with us, with Lia excluded, and we were told you would regret talking to the media.

“They also told us Lia swimming with us is non-negotiable and provided us with counselling services to ‘help us be okay’ with it.

“It’s incredibly startling.”

After she transitioned from the men’s team to the women’s Lia Thomas won an NCAA Division I national championship in the 500-yard freestyle event.

It sparked a global conversation surrounding trans athletes competing in female sports.

Walsh said he believed the most important thing Scanlan revealed was the alleged “psychological manipulation” happening at a prestigious US university.

“The most disturbing thing that revealed is the psychological manipulation from the school that made the real girls on the team question their own common sense and judgment,” Walsh said.

“They knew it was wrong to have a man on the team but the gaslighting campaign was extremely effective.”

Scanlan said she did not ever have to directly compete against Thomas.

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas (2nd L) of Penn University and transgender swimmer Iszac Henig (L) of Yale pose with their medals after placing first and second in the 100-yard freestyle swimming race at the 2022 Ivy League Women's Swimming & Diving Championships at Harvard University.

However, fellow swimmer Riley Gaines had to participate in the same events against her. She quickly became an activist and staunch supporter of female athletes.

She said she has witnessed female athletes losing out on opportunities due to being “displaced” by male competitors and has rigorously campaigned against the removal of gender boundaries from competitive sport.

In an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan in April, Gaines spoke up for all female athletes, emphasising that her advocacy extends beyond her own experiences.

She expressed her determination to fight for the “rights of future generations”.

Paula Scanlan was on the same university swim team as transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

Lia Thomas (Far left) began hormone replacement therapy in May 2019. She transitioned from the University of Pennsylvania men’s team to the women’s team in 2021.

US President Joe Biden said his administration has plans to make it harder for schools to bar transgender students from taking part in competitions under their elected gender.

“This rule is a good start. However, it is not enough. During this time of intense anti-trans backlash, the trans community needs explicit protection from discrimination in order to live our lives freely and equally,” Thomas said in April.