Caitlyn Jenner is teeing off on transgender athlete Lia Thomas‘ recent NCAA championship … claiming the Penn swimmer’s accomplishment should NOT be counted.
As we previously reported, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation declaring runner-up and Sarasota native Emma Weyant the “rightful winner” of the women’s 500-yard freestyle race … after the Olympic silver medalist lost to Thomas by 1.75 seconds.
Jenner is siding with DeSantis … saying Weyant is clearly deserving of the #1 spot, and anyone who agrees isn’t a bigot — they’re just using their brain.
“It’s not transphobic or anti-trans, it’s COMMON SENSE!” Jenner tweeted on Tuesday.
While 72-year-old Jenner has fully supported Thomas’ decision to be her true self, the 1976 Olympic gold medalist has been critical of her participation in women’s sports in the past.
Jenner’s stance is women’s sports need to be protected … and when trans athletes like Thomas compete against biological women, it’s creating an unfair advantage.
As for the NCAA, the org. decided transgender athlete participation would be determined on a sport-by-sport approach … which means the national governing bodies for each sport are in charge of creating their own set of rules on the matter.
Thomas started at Penn on the men’s team in 2017 … and had some of the fastest times in the country. She started undergoing hormone replacement therapy in early 2019, and publicly came out as trans later that year.
Due to the rules, Thomas had to compete on the men’s team the following year … before officially joining the women’s team this past season, after undergoing testosterone suppression treatment for more than one year.