Virginia Tech swimmer wrote a letter to the NCAA criticizing its rules that allow UPenn’s transgender athlete to compete.
Reka Gyorgy, a Virginia Tech swimmer, leveled the criticism in a post to her private Instagram account after missing the cut on Thursday to compete in the finals of the 500 free at the NCAA Championships.
She has called on the sports authority to review its policies and “open their eyes and change these rules in the future”. Gyorgy’s letter was made public just days after the National Women’s Law Center was blasted for dismissing critics of Thomas as “misogynists”.
Gyorgy said of the rule that has received considerable scrutiny since Thomas has smashed records in her first season competing at the collegiate level as a transgender woman: “It doesn’t promote our sport in a good way and I think it is disrespectful against the biologically female swimmers who are competing in the NCAA.”
Gyorgy also placed blame on Thomas for her failure to qualify. The Virginia Tech swimmer said she felt the last spot to get into the final was taken from her “because of the NCAA’s decision to let someone who is not a biological female compete.”
Gyorgy’s letter urged the college sports organization to amend its rule. She explained: “I ask that the NCAA takes time to think about all the other biological women in swimming, try to think how they would feel if they would be in our shoes. Make the right changes for our sport and for a better future in swimming.”
Thomas finished with a 4:33.82 in the preliminaries and ultimately took home the national women’s 500 free title when she won the finals race with a time of 4:33.24.
Thomas told ESPN, according to a transcript of the interview provided by nonbinary journalist Katie Barnes: “I didn’t have a whole lot of expectations for this meet. I was just happy to be here, trying to race and compete as best as I could.”
When Barnes asked Thomas about competing “under the spotlight,” she said: “I try to ignore it as much as I can. I try to focus on my swimming, what I need to do to get ready for my races, and just try to block out everything else. It means the world to be here, being with two of my best friends and teammates, and to be able to compete.”
In a tweet that was published on Friday, a non-profit organization wrote: “Lia Thomas deserves all the celebration for her success this season, but instead is being met with nationwide misogyny and transphobia.
Lia, we need people like you. Not only as a swimmer but to inspire women athletes—cis and trans—everywhere.”
The message also contained a link to a supportive Newsweek op-ed written by swimmer Erica Sullivan, who won silver in the 1,500-meter freestyle at Toyko 2020.
Many users took issue with tweets, as Nigel Betteridge suggested that the organization needs to change its name. A parody account of twentieth-century American composer Sam Barber also pointed out that “allowing Thomas to compete against women IS misogyny”.
Thomas has faced some backlash with a number of organizations and athletes questioning the fairness of a swimmer who was born as a biological male competing against women. The NCAA made new regulations about transgender athletes earlier this season and essentially left eligibility up to individual sports.