Former Olympic athlete Caitlyn Jenner has described transgender college swimmer Lia Thomas as 'one of the worst things that happened to the trans community'.
The Olympic medal winner and parent to Kylie and Kendall Jenner shared her thoughts on Thomas during an appearance on Piers Morgan's new show Piers Morgan Uncensored, released today (29 April).
Thomas sparked controversy by taking part in women's swimming in college, and last month made history as the first known transgender athlete to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) first division swimming championship.
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The student was allowed to compete under the rules of the NCAA, but Jenner implied the swimmer was giving the transgender community a bad reputation as she addressed the matter with Morgan.
"Lia Thomas is one of the toughest, one of the hardest, erm, one of the worst things that happened to the trans community because it’s such bad publicity,” Jenner said, adding: "I’ve met so many wonderful trans people, doing wonderful things, living their life authentically.”
With Thomas scheduled to graduate this year, Jenner went on to express positive wishes for the swimmer as she commented: "I hope Lia Thomas — it’s over for her now because she’s out of college — and I just hope she has a wonderful life.
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“Being trans is not easy, I hope she enjoys the rest of her life and has a good life," Jenner said.
Jenner stressed Thomas' involvement in swimming was proof that 'we need to look at the rules', to which Morgan agreed and said that while he did not want 'ill will' towards anyone involved in the debate, he did not want 'women's rights to be eroded' as a result of 'political correctness and a scaredness to have a debate'.
Earlier in the interview, Jenner told Morgan she stood by her opinion that she does not want 'biological boys to compete against women and girls in sports', branding it 'just not fair'.
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The former athlete has been outspoken about her belief, writing previously in an opinion piece for the New York Post that women's sports must be protected 'at all costs'.
"What Lia has done, beating biological women to win a Division I national championship, is anathema to what sports represents and the spirit of competition,” she wrote.
Jenner told Morgan she didn't 'blame' Thomas for taking part in women's sport, acknowledging the swimmer had 'played within the rules' but pointed out she 'dominated' in the race, claiming she had a 'tremendous advantage'.
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Data compiled in the wake of Thomas' win indicated she did not have an unfair advantage over the cisgender women against whom she was competing.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence contact Mindline Trans+ on 0300 330 5468. The line is open 8pm–midnight Mondays and Fridays and is run by trans volunteers
Topics: Sport, LGBTQ, Piers Morgan, Caitlyn Jenner
Emily Brown