Tennis legend Martina Navratilova said in a new interview that Lia Thomas, the record-breaking transgender swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, should have an “asterisk” next to her name.
Navratilova’s comments, which aired Thursday night on News Nation, came the same day Thomas won the women’s 500-yard NCAA championship.
The 59-time Grand Slam champion also trashed the NCAA rules and said the national organization needs to level the playing field for its athletes.
“It’s not about excluding transgender women from winning ever,” said Navratilova, 65. “But it is about not allowing them to win when they were not anywhere near winning as men.”
“But right now, the rules are what they are. Maybe put an asterisk there, if she starts breaking records left and right,” said Navratilova, referring to Thomas.
Navratilova suggested the NCAA could have one category where only biological females compete against each other, then adopt “an open category” for everyone else.
Thomas, who swam for the University of Pennsylvania as a man for three years before transitioning, won her Thursday race handily with a time of 4:33.24.
She will also compete in the 200-yard and 100-yard NCAA championships later this week.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova said record-breaking transgender swimmer Lia Thomas should have an “asterisk” next to her name. Karwai Tang/WireImage
University of Pennsylvania transgender athlete Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17, 2022. AP/John Bazemore
Thomas swam for the University of Pennsylvania as a man for three years before transitioning for her final year. Penn Athletics