NCAA has just made a controversial decision when prohibiting Lia Thomas participating in women’s competitions and fined her $ 200 million. The move was released after the swimmer of Riley Gaines filed a lawsuit, allegedly the presence of Lia Thomas in women’s tournaments was unfair.
Lia Thomas, who played in the men’s team before moving to the female category, became the focus of debate about fairness in sports. NCAA stated that they made this decision based on the principle of ensuring fairness for female athletes, and emphasized that Thomas violated the gender rules in competition.
In his lawsuit, Riley Gaines said that the appearance of Lia Thomas directly affected the opportunity and achievements of other athletes. She said that NCAA did not protect the rights of female athletes and created an unqualified playground. This decision not only ends Thomas’s female competition career but also raises an important precedent in school sports.
The public is dividing this decision. Some supporters of NCAA, arguing that it is necessary to have a clear gender in sport to protect fairness. Meanwhile, supporters of Thomas think that this is an act of discrimination, contrary to the rights of the LGBTQ+community. Human rights organizations have also criticized this decision, saying that NCAA is getting hands for elimination and prejudices with transgender athletes.
This incident may not stop here, when many opinions call for intervention from organization to protect sports and human rights. Lia Thomas herself has not officially spoken about this decision, but maybe she will continue to fight for her right to play in the near future.
