College athlete says Ivy League Lia Thomas decision told female athletes their rights don’t matter

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College athlete says Ivy League telling female athletes their rights don’t matter

Alliance for Defending Freedom Spokesperson Christiana Holcomb and track and field competitor Chelsea Mitchell rip the Ivy League Conference for approving Lia Thomas’ eligibility for upcoming competitions.

A track and field competitor said Wednesday the NCAA told female athletes that their rights do not matter after the Ivy League granted transgender athlete Lia Thomas eligibility to continue competing.

"I mean, it basically tells them that their rights and opportunities don’t matter," track and field athlete Chelsea Mitchell told "America Reports." "In high school, I had to race against biological males [in] like every big state championship I went to, and I knew I was going to lose each of those championships, and so these girls [are] basically just going to have to be racing for second [place]."

Mitchell wants the NCAA to even the playing field in women’s sports after the Ivy League conference granted Thomas eligibility to continue competing. She said that South Dakota’s measure in banning transgender athletes from competing in female sports is "definitely a step in the right direction." 

"It’s encouraging to see the lawmakers across the country step up to the plate and say we see how the NCAA has failed women and girls, and we are not going to allow that in our state," Alliance for Defending Freedom Spokesperson Christiana Holcomb said. Holcomb is Mitchell's legal counsel.

TRANSGENDER LIA THOMAS WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE AT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS, IVY LEAGUE CONFIRMS

Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, right competes in the 200 meter freestyle during an NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. The University of Pennsylvania says it will work with the NCAA under its newly adopted standards for transgender athletes. Swimmer Lia Thomas competed on the men’s team at Penn before transitioning. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

While it remains unclear whether Thomas will be eligible to compete in the NCAA Championships scheduled for next month, an Ivy League spokesperson confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday that the swimmer will be eligible to compete at the final Ivy League Championships this month.

"The recent rule changes do not impact Lia's eligibility for this month's Ivy League Women's Swimming & Diving Championships as the effective date for this unprecedented midseason NCAA policy change begins with the 2022 NCAA Winter Championships," the spokesperson said in an email to Fox News.

The NCAA updated its transgender participation policy last month, saying it will be determined on a sport-by-sport basis. If there is no national governing body for the sport, then the NCAA sport will follow the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) policy.

Penn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, is seen during warmup before an NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. The University of Pennsylvania says it will work with the NCAA under its newly adopted standards for transgender athletes. Swimmer Lia Thomas competed on the men’s team at Penn before transitioning. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

Those changes cast doubt on whether Thomas would be eligible for the NCAA Championships but concluded that the changes would not be applied this season. The USA Swimming released new guidelines emphasizing fairness for cisgender females.

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Alliance for Defending Freedom spokeswoman Christiana Holcomb said that the NCAA failed to protect women and girls like Mitchell.

"Again, NCAA has completely, failed to protect women and girls like Chelsea, failed to provide a level playing field and standards that ensure girls like Chelsea will not lose out on the championship titles," she said. "It’s a clear violation of Title 9. It was made for those [to] have fairness and safety on the track and in the pool, and that’s not what is occurring under current NCAA and USA swimming regulations."

Fox News' Kyle Morris contributed to this report.