Legendary American Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps weighed in on the growing controversy surrounding a transgender swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania by saying that he wants everyone to complete on an even playing field.
Phelps, who won 23 Olympic gold medals across multiple Games, including most recently at the 2016 Rio Games, made the comments during an interview with CNN. Host Christiane Amanpour brought up the situation involving University of Pennsylvania College swimmer by the name of Lia Thomas, saying that Thomas has been “obviously doing exceptionally well.”
“What do you make of this particular situation?” Amanpour asked.
“I mean, look, like, I will say I can talk from a standpoint of doping, I don’t think I have competed in a clean field in my entire career,” Phelps said. “So, I think this leads back to the organizing committees again, because it has to be a level playing field. I think that’s something that we all need, because it’s — like, that’s what sports are. And, for me, I don’t know where this is going to go. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I believe that we all should feel comfortable with who we are in our own skin. But I think sports should all be played an even playing field. I don’t know what that looks like in the future. But it’s hard. It’s a really — honestly, I don’t know what to say.”
“It’s very complicated,” he concluded. “And this is my sport. This has been my sport my whole entire career. And I — honestly, the one thing I would love is everybody to be able to compete on an even playing field. That’s all I can say.”
Reacting to ongoing debate over trans college athlete Lia Thomas competing on the women’s swimming team, “it’s very complicated,” says @MichaelPhelps. “We all should feel comfortable with who we are in our own skin. But I think sports should be played on an even playing field.” pic.twitter.com/brsq7t2vJW
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) January 13, 2022
The Daily Wire’s Ashe Schow reported last month that an official with USA Swimming has resigned in protest over University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, who competed as a male for three years before identifying and competing as a woman. So far, Thomas has shattered women’s swimming records by massive amounts while many continue to claim transgender women have no biological advantage over women.
Cynthia Millen, who has officiated swimming competitions for 30 years, told the Washington Times, “I can’t do this; I can’t support this.”
“I told my fellow officials that I can no longer participate in a sport which allows biological men to compete against women,” Millen said. “Everything fair about swimming is being destroyed.”
“If Lia came on my deck as a referee, I would pull the coach aside and say, ‘Lia can swim, but Lia can swim exhibition or a time trial,” Millen said. “Lia cannot compete against those women because that’s not fair.’”
Related:
- Penn Transgender Swimmer ‘Mocks’ The Situation, ‘Compares Herself To Jackie Robinson,’ Teammate Says
- ‘Little Girls Are Going To Be Thrown Under The Bus’: USA Swimming Official Who Quit To Protest Lia Thomas Swimming Against Women
- ‘So Easy I Was Cruising’: Teammate Says Penn’s Trans Swimmer Boasted After Destroying Competition