Lia Thomas and Transgenders in Sports

Lia Thomas is the transgender student who graduated from Penn as one of their greatest swimmers. She is at the heart of the issue of transgender people competing in sports. Trump’s Administration required Penn to cancel Thomas’ swimming awards to have funds restored that were being withheld. This would mean that the second-place athletes would officially win the events in which Thomas participated. This is another example of my mantra, “Follow the money.” Some of Thomas’ teammates also refused to accept her standing as the top swimmer.

This a complex ethical decision, in part, because Trump and his minions have little understanding of human sexuality as sexuality exists on a spectrum containing descriptions that now have formed a world of labels such as cisgender, gay, etc.

I think the problem that I had with the ethics of Lia Thomas competing against other women was based in approaching it from a pure biological or psychological point of value. I believe that this issue is best addressed by bioethics and enhancement as that focuses the debate on what is fair which defines justice.

I don’t think that it receives the appropriate response by Thomas’ words that, “you must accept all of me if you accept part of me” which doesn’t seem reasonable to me so we will approach the issue from enhancement and the reasonable person standard.

We are familiar with Olympic athletes who use medications to enhance their performance beyond what their bodies could NATURALLY do. It is illegal for them to participate. Think Lance Armstrong. Individuals and whole teams have been banned under the Olympic Committee’s rigorous standards. You either have the drug in your system, or you don’t. This is a reasonable solution that makes easy decisions.

There are other enhancements such as plastic surgeries on people who want to look better or athletes who train at Colorado Springs high up in the Rockies where this enhances their performance beyond what they could do at ground level. I have direct experience of this form of enhancement as we have close friends in Colorado. When we would visit them, I would continue running. The first few days were rough but quickly I would make the adjustment to the high altitude. When I returned to Philly, I was like kid lightning for about a week. Then I returned to the old me of being like I always was before we left for Colorado.

But the issue can get even stickier. Squash is a sport that is played by people who have the resources to play at an independent school with people who have the financial means to provide private coaches or school coaches for their children. If they compete against an inner-city public-school kid who struggles to get court time as well as coaching, it is reasonable that the smart money would be on the person who had who had access to much more court time and instruction. That is reasonable but unfair. The Williams sisters are the exception to this rule as demonstrated in the movie, King Richard, which is a film about their early lives and tennis. Bioethics always seeks to have a level playing field of fairness and justice.

Lia Thomas’ situation is less clear, but I DON’T THINK THAT SHE SHOULD COMPETE AGAINST OTHER FEMALE ATHLETES. Here’s why. First, any conversation that occurs around her should be such that it honors and respects her, but accepting all of her is unreasonable for she has enhanced her swimming skills. There are many sets of rankings in her sport that provide a clear reason why I hold this view. You don’t go from being ranked 462 in men’s swimming to number 1 in women’s swimming. It is unreasonable to think that Lia could go from that low point to number 1 on her own hard work.

I was one of the bioethics consultants for the Body World Exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philly. Body World uses a process call Plastination which isolates all the systems in the body so that they can be seen separately. One look would tell you that the muscle mass in men is far different from the muscle mass in women.

I have first-hand experience with transgender people. They experience such joy and relief to finally get their birth identity to conform to their inner sense of their sexual identity. This is who they are. Our school motto is “Esse Quam Videri, to be rather than seem To Be.”

That is who they are. I believe that regarding diversity, once you know the person, their label falls away whether the person is transgender or any other label on the sexual spectrum. That is my experience, and I think that it is reasonable. I have never met someone who woke up and said, “I think I will be transgender today!” Our culture still stigmatizes anyone who is different.

The all-male 50^th reunion class at EA wanted a transgender woman who was one of their classmates to be a chapel speaker at an Alumni Service. They chose her because they knew her as an academician, athlete, and great person. They loved her (their words) and could care less that she was transgender. Later in the day after dinner as we were saying goodbye to her, she said these prophetic words, “Jim, this is gong to be all about the restrooms.”

People’s feelings are important. They may be uncomfortable sharing a restroom with a transgender person. No one should have to defend their feelings. There is a great opportunity here. Have the restroom be designated as non-gender specific. We see this in hospitals routinely now. Ethics is about access! Ethics always wants those who are different to feel welcome. After her address my guest speaker for the class reunion received a long-standing invasion. It moved her to tears  as thousands of people in the congregation honored her with a few remaining seated. Did I get criticized the next week by people that didn’t agree with me? Yes! Ethics says choose the hard right over the easy wrong.