Three former members of the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s swimming team are taking legal action to have the records set by Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer, removed.
The former athletes—Grace Estabrook, Ellen Holmquist, and Margot Kaczorowski—have filed a lawsuit against several prestigious institutions, including UPenn, Harvard University, the NCAA, and the Ivy League Council of Presidents.
They argue that their experience sharing a team with Thomas was “traumatizing” and violated federal law.
The Allegations and Legal Action
According to the lawsuit, these former athletes accuse the institutions of allowing Thomas, a biologically male swimmer, to compete against women and use their locker room facilities during the 2021-2022 season.
The lawsuit also targets the violation of Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education, and is seeking to have Thomas’s records erased from the Ivy League, NCAA, and Ivy League institutions, including Harvard and UPenn.
Filed on Tuesday, the legal action comes a day before former President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at keeping biological males out of women’s sports.
The complaint also aims to create a class-action claim for 206 female athletes who participated in the 2022 Ivy League Swimming and Diving Championships, held at Harvard.
Emotional Trauma and Impact on Female Athletes
The lawsuit describes how the plaintiffs, along with many of their fellow athletes, were left “emotionally traumatized” by the experience of competing alongside Thomas, who is the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division 1 title.
The former swimmers believe they were part of an “illegal social science experiment” by the Ivy League, forced to endure this situation in silence.
In addition to their trauma, the athletes claim they were pressured by university administrators to accept Thomas’s participation and to suppress their concerns.
The lawsuit accuses the administrators of pushing pro-transgender ideology and even offering counseling to those struggling with the situation, while warning them not to speak publicly about the issue.
The Locker Room Controversy
The athletes allege that they were initially told Thomas wouldn’t be allowed in the women’s locker room but were shocked to learn that not only would Thomas be sharing the space, but the coach had been instructed to allow it.
Margot Kaczorowski, one of the plaintiffs, has said that she was left in tears upon learning this, while Grace Estabrook expressed frustration that she was taught to accept losing opportunities and privacy just because of someone else’s feelings.
Lia Thomas’ Impact on Women’s Sports
Lia Thomas’s participation in the women’s swimming competitions has stirred significant controversy.
In the 2022 Ivy League Championships, she finished first in multiple events and set several records.
But for many of her female competitors, her success represented the loss of their own opportunities.
As one swimmer recalled, they felt “fear” and “abuse” while competing against Thomas, and there was nowhere to escape the feeling of discomfort, even in the locker room.
This growing debate has sparked wider concerns about the future of women’s sports.
Recently, President Trump signed an executive order banning transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports, using Title IX to support his claim.
Backlash and Legal Response
The controversy over transgender athletes in women’s sports continues to evolve.
In states like Georgia, a bill called the “Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act” was passed, requiring athletes to compete according to their biological sex.
If this law goes into effect, Georgia will join 25 other states that have introduced similar measures to restrict transgender participation in women’s sports.
As the debate rages on, former swimmers like Kylee Alons and Kaitlynn Wheeler have spoken out about the harm they felt competing alongside Thomas.
They describe feeling uncomfortable and unsafe, even choosing to change in store cupboards rather than risk entering the locker room where Thomas was present.
These athletes have also joined a lawsuit led by Riley Gaines, calling for further protections for women in sports.
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