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Erica Sullivan Shares Thoughts on Lia Thomas: “I Just Feel Bad For Her”
At the women’s NCAA Championships next week in Atlanta, transgender woman Lia Thomas will be the top seed and favorite in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle races. Few of her national competitors have weighed in on the controversy surrounding Thomas so far. The only significant statement came from Stanford fifth-year swimmer Brooke Forde, who said that she would not have a problem racing Thomas in the 500 free at NCAAs.
Now, another key swimmer who will race against Thomas in the 500 free at NCAAs, Texas freshman Erica Sullivan, has shared an opinion. Sullivan was a U.S. Olympian in 2021, and she captured the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the 1500-meter free. With her performances, Sullivan became the first openly-lesbian swimmer to qualify for a U.S. Olympic team and then to win an Olympic medal.
Asked for her own opinion on whether Thomas should be allowed to race, Sullivan downplayed the competitive ramifications while lamenting the effects of the criticism Thomas has taken on her well-being.
“I think people are asking for this big, well thought-out explanation, especially for me as a gay swimmer, but my explanation is pretty simple. I don’t care. It comes down to the fact that when I race, I don’t race for the status or for the gold or for whatever. That’s just not why I do it. I love winning, don’t get me wrong. Getting a silver medal was so cool, and that’s always exciting, but I swim for the people around me,” Sullivan said.
“I feel bad for Lia because imagine being on a team where you know some people don’t want you there. That’s just a terrible environment to be in. I feel like I’m in an environment at Texas where I’m accepted by everyone here. If they’re not, they haven’t verbalized it to me. They’ve kept it to themselves, very supportive of my relationship, love it when I make my jokes. They’re very supportive of who I am as a person, and I just feel bad that Lia doesn’t have that.”
Sullivan was in favor of new USA Swimming rules creating policies and procedures for transgender females to be eligible for elite-level competition, but she expressed concerns about the NCAA changing eligibility requirements for trans swimmers such as Thomas in the middle of the season. She admitted that she would be upset if Thomas beat her but no more upset than if she lost to any other competitor in the field at NCAAs.
“I’m going to swim my 500 free to the best of my ability and try to beat her, not because she’s trans but because I’m competitive and I don’t like losing,” Sullivan said. “If I lose, I’m going to be (ticked), not because Lia’s trans but because I’m a competitive person, and I’m going to go back home and train as hard as I can. I’m going to be the same amount of angry if Emma beats me, Emma Nordin or Emma Weyant. Or Brooke Forde.”
Sullivan expressed empathy for Thomas as she has received considerable criticism despite not breaking any rules. “She’s getting hate from all sides. All I can think for her right now is that sucks for her because that has got to mess you up at night. That’s got to hurt as a human being,” Sullivan said. “I just feel bad for her. She doesn’t deserve what she’s getting.”
Lia deserves all the negative vibes she’s getting. #1, Lia is a man, not a girl. #2 She does not care about her female competitors or teammates. #3: It’s all about her and no one else and he’s trying to destroy the great sport of Women’s NCAA swimming. #4: And most importantly, he should not be allowed to swim against the women, it’s just plain ridiculous.
LOL….100% AGREED!!! SHE IS A…. HE AND HE DOESN’T BELONG ON A FEMALE TEAM. AS FOR FEELING….THE L.G.B.T.X.Y.Z NEED TO DEAL….I THINK IN REAL LIFE WE CALL THAT DIVERSITY THROUGH ADVERSITY. ADDITIONALLY, HE NEEDS TO PUT HIS BIG BOY PANTIES ON AND FACE THE FACTS….HE IS AT BEST AVERAGE …..YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL MR. THOMAS…..YOU ARE NOT BRAVE, COURAGEOUS, NOT A WINNER OR EVEN AN ATHLETE…..TRUE ATHLETES HAVE HONOR…..MR. THOMAS IS A PATHETIC NARCISSIST
I agree 100%…biggest loser..
Excellent point Honor!! Lia Thomas has 0 of it!
i agree with you. She needs to be in a separate category and times & places marked with an asterisk as the editor of this fine magazine has already suggested.
No, why should women put up with this at all? Why should we bend over backwards because of a person’s feelings about themself?
As a swimmer, I would feel completely demoralized to have a man in the pool swimming against me, even if his “win” is marked with an asterisk.
HE
I couldnt agree more with you. Mr. Thomas is a man and this Kabuki dance of charades doesnt change that fact! He has brought the batred on to himself!
100% correct my man!!! As a parent of a girl swammer, I can’t imagine being a female swimmer or a parent having to deal with this! Also as a former coach I would not ever allow this to happen at any level! If it was for a job position or some other non athletic thing I’d be OK with it. Born a man with man size and strengths he should not be allowed to swim with females. All people gotta be who they are but fair and level playin field should always prevail. Aren’t enough people getting away with cheating? Peds etc? Shame on Ncaa. But then again this one is 1 of the many issues they’ve dropped the ball on.
Yes the PEDs are equal to her competing. No respect for these top swimmers, they all on drugs and its disgraceful on all levels!
YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT ? PERCENT TRUE! THIS IS SUCH A TERRIBLE THING TO DO TO THE FEMALE RACE! THESE DEMALES WORK THEIR HEARTS OUT AND LOOK WHAT COMES ALONG – A MALE, WHO PROTRAYS HIMSELF AS A FEMALE WHO IS NOT A FEMALE ON THE INSIDE, STILL A MAN, THE SAME INNERS AS HE WAS BORN WITH! SUCH A DISGRACE!!!
I just can’t believe I little girl starts training and competing when she is in middle school to be the best she can be and to compete against other women who have have trained as hard as she has.Not to have to beat a big huge has been male swimmer. This is going to kill any sport where a guy can decide to be a gal and beat the hell out of real women. God what is liberal screwed up country coming to.Bill
She is not a she, it’s a man. HE is being allowed in female locker rooms, HE is being allowed to compete as a female. HE is a freak.
Whew!, you really don’t get it, do you. Everyone is so worried and concerned about how Thomas feels. How Thomas needs everyone’s support for being “brave” to openly be themselves. That’s cool, do you, you want to be called “Lia”, you will get called “Lia” just stop expecting everyone to like it and do cartwheels for a person who for the last 3yrs swam as a Man on UPenn’s Men Swim Team and was ranked 450th. Will “Lia” Thomas then proclaims in his last year at Upenn that he feels he’s a Woman and starts taking hormones. Thomas does a “Soul Man”(Soul Man is about a Young White Man who takes Pills that will darken his complexion to get a scholarship designated for African-American’s) “Lia” takes some pills and says he is a “Woman”. And just like that “Lia” gets to swim on UPenn’s Women s Swim Team without regard of how the Biological Women would feel. That their feelings, comfortability and safety didn’t matter, all that mattered was UPenn not being labeled “Transphobic” by the Transgender Bullies. You know The Transgender Bullies, they’re the ones that label anyone who doesn’t do cartwheels for Transgender Women get labeled “Transphobic”. Its wrong on all levels, look, do you Boo, do all you wish and live as you choose its when what you do impedes my life and my goals. You doing you shouldn’t take away from what I do, Thomas being on UPenn’s Women’s Swim Team negated the Biological Women who worked equally hard to be on UPenn’s Women Swim Team, to swim against other Women. They didn’t work hard for nearly 2/3 of their of their lives to have the chance to swim on UPenn’s Women’s Swim to be told, an exception has been made to allow a Biological Man swim against you, even though that is not what you signed up for. If you dare speak out against it, you’ll be labeled “Transphobic” and your life ruined. Which comes to my last comment, neither Thomas, NCAA nor UPenn took into consideration how this would affect the Biological Women on the Swim Team who now have to compete against a man, (2+2=4 DNA is DNA Thomas is biologically a man, no amount of pills, makeup or surgery will change this). One coach actually fixed his mouth to say “the Women complaining need to train harder, sounds like what you stated, you can’t wait to race against Thomas, well you couldn’t be more wrong. UPenn’s lack of respect for the Women on their swim team is funny, its called talking out the side of your neck. You say one think but do another, everyone HAS to accept and respect Thomas, at the same time UPenn disrespected the Biological Women on their Swim Team who just have to suck it up and swim harder(as if before they weren’t trying their hardest), is that fair?
Well said ? ?
Any race Lia wins has been won by a male swimmer. The swimmer who comes in 2nd. Is actually the real woman swimmer who wins 1st. Place, etc etc.
Brava!
It’s nota her, it’s an it. She feels bad for “it”
Just STOP. I don’t feel great about what this means for women’s sports either, but it is NOT a reason to lose our own humanity. Every single one of you attacking Lia with ugly name calling are CEMENTING the idea that any conversation about this will be labeled “transphobic” bc many of you are BEING TRANSPHOBIC! So many people on here are going on about Lia’s “lack of honor/integrity…” ect but how honorable is it to anonymously trash this person online? You are showcasing your own ugly personal flaws. Stick to the conversation with medical science and true fairness in mind. Leave what Lia thinks off the table bc you don’t know. The discourse on this feed is everything that is wrong with our Nation; most of you should be ashamed of yourselves.
I applaud, and greatly appreciate Ms. Sullivan’s comments.
Ms. Sullivan is too woke! That is a 21 year old 5th year senior identifying as female. There should be no word other than female. I have no problem with anyone transgender. It’s all good. But not in sports. If a girl wants to play on the boys team…have at it. Good luck. The girl will get pummeled in football. Lia had no chance to win anything as a boy. His metrics prove it. Cannot be denied. Lia is stealing from these Penn girls! And all girls in the sport! In any sport. It’s wrong. And the locker room? Crazy. Lia should identify as a woman and swim with the men. Look at the size of Lias shoulders. Ivy league has their own theories! Luda! Keep quiet hush or you will lose your spot! Nothing could be more unfair ever! Ask Caitlin Jenner and Martina Navratilova! Maybe you don’t know who they are! This is a true disgrace to Women. We don’t need to be called cis. It’s offensive to me and many other women around the world. We are girls by birth. That’s how it works. Cannot be changed. We cannot compete against men. Ever. Thats why Nixon made that deal. Wake up woke! You off!
Thank you, arbiter, on the amount of “woke” that a person can be.
I am sure that individuals are as open-minded or closedminded as they choose to be, without your input.
you’re a moron
Beacause you are a man. That is why you applaud it.
Yes, because there are so many of us men applauding her comments, we all think exactly alike.
What I find is very sad is seeing females throwing their fellow females under the transgender bus. Many women fought very hard for years for parity in sport and their work is being ignored by today’s woke society.
Despite what she may think, no one cares if Sullivan is gay. It’s amazing how many people that support Thomas address everything under the sun other than whether or not Thomas has an unfair competitive advantage because she went through puberty as a male.
Gay rights was about the rights of same-sex attracted people and had nothing to do with “gender identity”before transgender activists deliberately glommed onto the gay rights movement.
Transgender activists wanted to take advantage of the goodwill, the money and the organizations that gays fought for.
Look it up.
Now gay people like Sullivan are feeling a backlash because transgender activists have gone too far and are destroying women’s sports and women’s safe, sex-segregated spaces like locker rooms.
I’m old; I fought for gay rights probably before you were born, probably decades before you were born.
I helped gay men dying of AIDs when no one would touch them.
Transgender activists deliberately cemented themselves to the gay rights movement in the 90s. Before that gay rights was about same-sex attraction, not “gender identity.”
There was an article in the New York Times in 2015 in which transgender activists admitted that they deliberately attached transgender causes to the gay rights movement in order to take advantage of what gays had already accomplished.
So basically she don’t care to lose on cheating. First time I heard someone defending the cheating. And she will be very upset when she loses against Lia, because she’s going to lose, not because she’s a bad swimmer, but because it’s not a fear competition. So sad to see women’s competitors to go along with their own destruction. Very sad.
Editor-In-Chief take note…
Lots of emotions, both side, everyone is right. It is a legal issue. Lia is eligible to swim in the women’s team. We need legislation to exclude him, please, everyone, call your state representatives
Amen to that you are so right girl
Stop the bigotry you all if you had a clue about what you were talking about it would be different
No it has nothing to do with bigotry. It’s about what’s real. The medical facts don’t lie. Men have larger hearts and lungs than women. They have more adrenaline than women. That is a fact. I love my transgender friends. I have no problem with them. They are the same as me at work. But we arent in a sports competion that builds careers to go to the Olympics. We work together in a warehouse. But a 21 year old male that cannot win 4 years in ivy league because he’s ranked 550 should not be able to say that I now identify as a woman and compete against them. Lia should swim with the same university of Penn team. And be number 1. But that won’t happen. But now it has thanks to the ncapp.
I put in she should swim with the men’s team. Not the women’s. Sorry guys. She will never come close to 1 on the men’s. Somehow my phone switched it to same when I meant mens team sorry folks. I feel really strongly about this. Ivy league schools teach to be quiet. That’s not how America rolls.
Give me one good reason why we should allow bio men play against women just because they took a yr of pills.
Stop your foolishness!
Being lesbian has no physical advantage. Being a man does.
Exactly. No one gives a flying fig if she’s gay.
The State of Florida might have something to say about it.
This is not difficult. This guy, Thomas, is a male. All the wishing and hoping cannot alter that.
I think Erica Sullivan misses the point here. Nobody dislikes Lia because she’s a transgender woman. They believe it is unfair that she is swimming with women when she’s a biological male and has gone through male puberty etc. everyone supports her transition and wants her to be happy. biological female swimmers just don’t want to swim in the same race with her, because it is not a level playing field. Lia is More competitive as a female swimmer than she was as a male swimmer. Being a swimmer all her life she totally understands it’s all about your times. And her times as a transgender woman will be much faster because she was born a biological male.
I find it deeply offensive that men think that womanhood is something that can be identified into.
And when we use “she” for men, we are going along with the linguistic absurdity surrounding the gender issue, because then we have to both accept men as women, but then make the distinction that some women can’t participate in women’s sports.
She didn’t miss the point, she expressed her opinion.
Ms. Sullivan would change her tune if she comes third at trials after a trans-woman or two.
The NCAA has never before allowed anything unnatural be allowed to give any kind of advantage to it’s athletes. Anytime mankind has ever changed what is “Natural” enough to completely change the status quo it has and will always result in the CREATION of what will be deemed Unnatural…
I’m sure Thomas is probably a good person but I will never believe it is fair for these occurrences to happen…
I also believe that pro athletes will be encouraged to have the same operation so they can dominate weomen sports in the same way…
Hopefully you all know she/he still has his junk and is prancing around the women’s locker room with it. It is a travesty that the NCAA is allowing this to happen. Next year more men may switch sides and want to swim on the women’s team? Stop the insanity!!
Exactly – a man can simply claim to be a woman and he’s exempt from an Indecent Exposure charge when he exposes himself in a woman’s locker room.
And the Ivy League is not only allowing Thomas to expose his male genitalia in their women’s locker rooms, the Ivy League has imposed a gag order on women swimmers while telling them to seek mental health counseling.
The Ivy League obviously hates its female athletes.
“prancing”?
I agree the barndoor js ooen for more heshes to come in. Its going to happen, mark my words.
Women are taught from birth to put themselves last.
Lia Thomas, ummmm… no, he wants it all, including women’s medals. How woMANly.
I think you should feel bad for all the girls and women that have not had the physical benefit of years of testosterone and growth of denser muscle and bone physiologically, who stand to lose under Title IX. The deck has been stacked against them from the beginning, and now it’s being stacked again.
You weren’t born a man.
I think this article made me throw up in my mouth a little. Will Thomas does not care that he is not wanted on an all woman’s team, that he is destroying an all woman’s sport or setting woman back 100 years. He only cares that for the first time in his 4 years at Penn he is considered a good swimmer.
And getting a boatload of attention. The liberal press celebrates sexual devjancy!
It’s always about ” people feelings” and if they feel bad about themselves than everyone around them needs to conform to their delusions. Everyone needs to sacrifice but the “victim”. Leah shouldn’t be in women’s competition period. Or she needs a major handicap to make herself on a an even level. Make her wait so long before she can start.
I’m a transgender woman.
I’m actually a lot more woman that a lot of cis women. I have designer breasts and a designer VjY, my hormonal levels are way more feminine than most women.
It’s true Lia has an unfair advantage, but she’s following the rules so is in the right.
I know you girls love to hate us because we’re hotter than you, but if you don’t like something vote and work to make the rules more equitable. It’s not Lia’s fault.
Yuck! Hope I never run into you. Buddy you werent born with female plumbing and no amount.of surgery will changdvthat fact!
How do you know you haven’t slept with me sweetie??
Nice spelling btw?
It doesn’t matter how much surgery you get or what you think you are. Facts are facts. All transgender persons are delusional and that in itself is mental illness. Your “feelings” don’t matter to most of humanity because frankly it’s unnatural. Most people are just afraid to say it openly.Sorry if I hurt your “feelings.”
If you’re more than the real woman because of additives; then you’re not as real as you think you are. Pinocchio is not a real boy and dr Frankenstein is a mad doctor and you’re his favorite kind of patient.
He is a man not a woman and shouldn’t be allowed to compete against women idiots he couldn’t win against his own kind(men) so he thinks he is a woman lmao what’s wrong with all you idiots for letting this happen idiots
Lia went through puberty as a male. Spent most of her life training with testosterone. Those are two advantages that a year or two of hormone suppressants can’t eliminate. It’s not fair to bio-women to compete against someone who has spent most their life as a male.
He is still a male.
One cannot change ones sex because sex describes our reproduction and Lia’s body will never produce ova (eggs), which is what defines a “female” in human beings.
I feel bad for Eric Sullivan that he actually calls him a her. Is Eric really that stupid?
Lia is a man, period. Nothing can change biology and the unfair physical advantage. Unfair to all the biological females who haven’t the same body advantage. Sorry, but men do not belong in women’s sports.
I don’t think it’s fair for men to compete with women. They have an unfair advantage. However, it really isn’t Lia’s fault. It’s the fault of those in leadership of the sport. They are the ones who are not being reasonable or Fair. They are the ones who don’t seem to show any concern about women.
He can chose not to swim against women. That doesn’t excuse at all all the organzations in power that are allowing men to compete against women, but he also has a choice.
It’s at the very least partly his fault he chooses to swim on the women’s team knowing he has an unfair advantage
If several more trans females eventually join the team, it’s possible that there are no natural born females in the winning spots at all. It would then become another “male” sport. Women would be eliminated from their own sports. That’s possibility is insane.
He (Lia) wants us to accept him for who he is, yet he can’t even accept himself for who he is. How does that work?
Can’t feel sorry for a man competing in women’s sports. He is very much a cheater and a man.
“Leo” Stop picking on the girls! Leo obviously wasn’t competitive competing as a man.
I don’t know how this idea got hold that a human being can change sex because we cannot.
It’s really disturbing how gender activism now has us all denying basic science.
For her own psychological safety and wellbeing she should call it a day and realise this bombardment of negativity will never go away. Its not fair for the female swimmers or any other sport. Fine that she loves swimming and keeping healthy but competition should be left for biologically born females.
Don’t biological females have any inherent advantages (mental or physical) over biological males that should also prevent them from being on a male team? Why is this a one way street of only complaining when a biological male is on a biological female team? Physical attributes are critical but not all that matters in sports. Seems like you only complain when it impacts the woman but not the men. Let’s be “equitable” and eliminate sexism that discriminates by having men and women on different playing fields or pools (literally). one league for men, women and trans and let the best persons win. Bracket by best times and not gender identity. Stop treating grown women like children who need a participation trophy.
What?!?!?
Title IX, which I remember well, was made into law specifically to give women a chance for parity in education and athletics.
Now gender activists have launched a sneak attack on Title IX by claiming to be women, and therefore being eligible to compete in women’s sports.
I despair for the future, because younger people, like Erica Sullivan, have no idea what women had to go through to get to where we are.
While our lives are far from perfect, women have some rights. And young women are blithely giving our rights away to men who claim to be women.
Penn and the other Ivies, which used to be for men only, should be ashamed that they are returning to their misogynistic roots.
And I didn’t mean my comment to be a diss against Erica Sullivan, who has my complete respect. Go, Erica!
I just meant that a lot of younger women have been indoctrinated into gender ideology and so have no idea that they are giving up the rights their grandmothers, and even earlier women ancestors, fought so hard for.
“Parity” is the state or condition of being equal. But you don’t want them to compete in the same pool or field. What you want is segregation not parity.
The word “segregation” is not the discussion killer you seem to think it is.
We segregate athletics based on weight and age in order to achieve some sort of fairness.
Like those rules, segregation based on sex is because that is the only thing that gives women a fighting chance in sports.
Amazing how transgender demands activists always try to shoehorn race into their “arguments” not realizing how racist they themselves come across.
Erica, you are missing the point. It’s not about competition when you have no possibility of winning ,because Lia is a man. You may as well let swimmers take drugs or anabolic steroids, and nonsensically say, “well I don’t care, it just about competition , so who cares if they take performing enhancing drugs”.
Penn is one of the most woke schools in the US and for Lia’s teammates to complain about her gender identity is the height of hypocrisy.
What he’s doing is no different than if one of the women were taking steroids and winning First place. She would be disqualified. Why’s this any different?
It is not like that because that would be breaking league rules and Lia didn’t break any league rules. Cite them if you know different.
Sounds like Sullivan wants the challenge of competing against a guy.
It was nice of the Gay Gal to give her, I don’t care, rambling support of Lia. But, a lot of women do care, if they have to compete against a man, built like Michael Phelps.
Erica Sullivan has a good heart. She must be hard working and talented. She is also a BENEFICIARY of title IX that ensures women can complete in education system protected. without that, who would ask or care for your opinion right now.
lia competitors should jump in the pool as the gun fires……tread water for a bit….then get out if the water and start clapping as Ms. thomas comes in first….boycott
I’ve always hated the expression “openly”.
What’s wrong with keeping one’s private feelings….well private
Of course Erica Sullivan wants to compete against Lia Thomas!
This is the same woman who picked Katie Ledecky as a rival. Of all the races she could train for, she trains for Ledecky’s 1500m. Competing against the top 0.000001% of female swimmers motivates her to improve her times.
So she’s probably thinking “yeah why not. Throw a dude in the pool. It’ll boost my personal times. I’m sure they’ll disqualify him after the fact. So it’s a win-win-win. I say all the right things, I get better times, and I win.”
I don’t buy this Erica nice-girl act. “I don’t swim for myself, I swim for others!” Nobody gets to an Olympic podium by swimming for others! You’re a shark deep down Erica! And there’s nothing wrong with that! Don’t hide your ambitious qualities.