Monday, August 08, 2022

Donald Trump repeatedly misgenders swimmer Lia Thomas in pathetic rant about trans athletes

PINK NEWS

Donald Trump tosses hats to supporters at the rally Waukesha, Wisconsin.
(Getty/ Scott Olson)

Donald Trump repeatedly misgendered swimmer Lia Thomas in pathetic rant about trans athletes, promising to ban trans women from sports.

Trump made the comments at a “Save America” rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin on Friday (5 August), where he pushed the Republican candidates in the state that he has endorsed for November’s midterm elections.

The former president used much of his rambling speech to repeat false claims of 2020 election fraud, before moving on to one of his favourite subjects – trans athletes.

As the crowd of Trump supporters cheered, he declared: “We will keep men out of women’s sports.”

He went on to tell the story of a “young female swimmer who wanted to to break the United States record in some kind of event”, but who sees a “giant person” she must compete against.

But the athlete, Trump said, ended up being “badly injured in the race” because “he went by her so fast she got tremendous wind burn”.

He did not name the female swimmer, nor give any detail which would provide the story to be true.

Referencing trans swimmer Lia Thomas, Trump said: “He was just given female athlete of the year by the way.”

To be clear, Thomas was nominated for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)’s Woman of the Year award, after making history as the first trans woman to win an NCAA swimming championship. The winner of the award has not yet been announced.

But Trump ploughed on: “Is this country going to hell, or what?”

He also hit out at LGBTQ+ education, telling the crowd: “No teacher should ever be allowed to teach transgender to our children without parental consent.

“What they’re doing to your children essentially behind your back is crazy.”
Donald Trump previously claimed that Lia Thomas has a 30-foot wingspan

Last month, Donald Trump again spread misinformation about Lia Thomas in a speech at the first annual summit of the America First Policy Institute, a right-wing Republican non-profit, on Tuesday (26 July).

After telling the same story about the mysterious swimmer given “wind burn” by a trans athlete, he misgendered Thomas again and confusingly claimed that she had a “wingspan of 30 feet”.

For content, this would mean that each of her arms was the length of a giraffe.


Trans cyclist stripped of silver medal in the middle of competition

Leia Genis won a silver medal. A day later, she was told she didn't meet the sport's new requirements for trans women.

By Greg Owen Saturday, August 6, 2022

Photo: Shutterstock

Leia Genis, a trans cyclist competing in USA Cycling events since June, was unceremoniously stripped of a silver medal last week for not meeting the latest requirements for transgender athlete participation in the sport.

Genis was competing in the women’s elite individual pursuit at the USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships in Pennsylvania, where she won a silver medal, placing second behind cisgender cyclist Bethany Matsick.

The next day, as Genis was preparing for the mass start races, she was approached by a USA Cycling official who informed her she could no longer compete and that her silver medal would be revoked

Genis’s expulsion comes despite the fact she was eligible six weeks ago for two elite competitions under rules established by the global cycling governing board, Union Cycliste Internationale. Those races were held at the same facility and overseen by the same technical director as last week’s competition.

“Yet six weeks later,” Genis wrote in an Instagram post, “now that I am doing well at nationals, I am suddenly ineligible to compete.”

In June, the UCI revised rules around trans female athlete participation, lowering the allowable testosterone threshold from five nanomoles per liter for 12 months to 2.5 nanomoles per liter for two years.

Genis’s exasperation with the rule change was clear in her post.

“Being a trans woman in this sport is so incredibly frustrating,” Genis wrote. “Poorly communicated guidelines, restrictions and requirements that are constantly changing, lack of empathy from USA Cycling, and a peloton full of furtive whispers and sideways glances mean that even showing up to compete is an immense struggle.”

“I am obviously heartbroken,” Genis continues. “I have worked my ass off to be here and I rightfully earned my silver medal. I will continue to train and race but this experience has left me disgusted and abhorred @usacycling

Genis’s experience comes as athletic associations around the world grapple with how to handle trans athlete participation in sports, from elite swimming to high school soccer. Even darts are mired in controversy.

Universal guidelines remain elusive. The NCAA, which governs college athletics in the U.S., passed the buck in January, requiring each national governing body to set its own standards for trans athletic participation.

Genis has been cycling for two years, racking up thousands of miles on the road. In 2021 she made the leap to team sports joining the mixed gender The Shop racing team, based in Philadelphia and Atlanta.

After her first season with the team, Genis posted: “Not everyone is happy to see a trans person racing, many of which have expressed their disapproval quite loudly. But there have also been many supporters and honestly, I’ve had so much fun, they couldn’t keep me away if they tried. All this to say, it’s been one hell of a summer and I am very eager to continue to grow. I will absolutely be back next season.”




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