Olympic gold medalist decathalon runner and reality star Caitlyn Jenner said she’s ready to move on from discussing transgender athletes while appearing on Fox News’ “America Reports” to comment on trans swimmer Lia Thomas’ NCAA victory.
“To be honest with you, right now, I’m kind of getting tired of talking about it,” she told co-hosts John Roberts and Sandra Smith in a Friday interview. “I mean, I was just watching your piece beforehand. I mean, people are dying over in Ukraine.”
Jenner emphasized that trans athletes comprise a “small, small part” of athletics as a whole. “There’s just very few of them, that they’re getting all this attention.”
On Thursday, Thomas became the first openly transgender woman to win a NCAA Division I title. The University of Pennsylvania swimmer took first place in the 500-yard freestyle in just over 4 minutes and 33 seconds.
The 22-year-old’s victorious season has placed her squarely in the middle of a fiery debate about fairness versus inclusion regarding trans athletes. From pundits like Piers Morgan to Thomas’ own teammates, many have expressed concerns that the NCAA’s rules — which state a trans woman must undergo at least one year of recorded hormone therapy before competing on a cis women’s team — are insufficient in preventing a “biological advantage.”
Jenner, who publicly came out as trans in 2015, said she has “no problem” with Thomas because she followed NCAA’s rules.
“My problem that I have here is with the NCAA, really going all the way up to the Olympic Committee, other organizations that have allowed this to happen. She’s playing within the rules. What I have said from the beginning is, the rules aren’t tough enough.”
Thomas’ domination in the pool is proof that “just being on testosterone depressants for a year to two, whatever the rules are right now, because they keep changing, obviously is not enough,” Jenner added.
Jenner has stated on several occasions her opposition to “biological boy”s participating in women’s sports. While running to replace California governor Gavin Newsom in last year’s recall election, she told TMZ that “It just isn’t fair, and we have to protect girls’ sports in our schools.”
After doubling down on her stance a few days ago, Jenner sparred with a journalist who pointed out that Jenner had recently competed in a women’s golf tournament. In response to the headline “Caitlyn Jenner launches yet another disgraceful attack on trans athletes without a hint of irony,” Jenner replied: “No, I just had the balls to stand up for women and girls in sports.”
