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Joe Rogan Takes a Strong Stand Against Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas’ Participation in Female Category at NCAA

Published 04/04/2022, 10:16 AM EDT

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NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender woman to win the NCAA swimming championships. However, her victory became a cause for concern and controversy all over the world.

On one hand, LGBTQIA+ allies celebrated the inclusion of trans swimmers in the sport. On the other hand, many of Lia’s own peers threatened to stop competing, with several analysts and even sports stars expressing polarizing opinions on the matter.

Now, popular American podcaster Joe Rogan has weighed in on the controversy. Rogan discusses current events and politics among other topics in his podcast and has spoken about Lia Thomas.

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Joe Rogan speaks out on Lia Thomas controversy

The subject of trans swimmer Lia Thomas has been a lightning rod for debate over the past few months. In March, she became the first transgender athlete to win a Division One NCAA championship.

Consequently, athletes, analysts, news reporters, and even the general populace became divided on the matter. Furthermore, even the president of World Athletics took note and called for a change in rules.

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Now, popular podcaster Joe Rogan has opined on the matter. He expressed his disdain for the idea that “someone who was 462 (rank) as a man” became “number one as a woman a year later”. Lia competed as Will Thomas for her first three years at the University of Pennsylvania.

‘She Should Be Embraced’: NBC Op-Ed Writer Puts Lia Thomas in Same League as MLB Legend Jackie Robinson

Then, Rogan mentioned women athletes and even their parents. “Women are so frustrated, or parents,” Rogan said. He described how “it’s not fair” if your daughter is competing “against a trans woman”.

Furthermore, he even stated how the concept of outliers doesn’t apply to this situation. “There’s outliers and then there’s biological males, right? That’s beyond outliers,” Rogan said.

Rogan highlights sports as an area to draw the line

Rogan further went on and talked about how sports is an area where people tend to draw the line when it comes to transgender inclusion. He stated that “we’re all pretty accepting of it” when it comes to someone changing their gender “in all other aspects of society”.

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However, in sports, “people have the most pushback,” Joe said. According to him, people don’t think it is fair, and there’s a reason “why we have a distinction between men and women’s sports”.

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Furthermore, he also stated that the situation is also “terrible for the whole trans movement”. “It makes people more cynical,” Rogan expressed, referring to the positive aspects it the movement becoming overlooked.

Thus, it makes people “less likely to accept” the movement, since, in Joe’s opinion, they would “connect it to this athletic thing”. Clearly, Lia Thomas competing isn’t sitting right with many of her peers and competition, and neither is it sitting right with many across the world.

What are your opinions on the matter?

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WATCH THIS STORY: Lia Thomas Becomes First Transgender Woman to Win NCAA Gold- Rivals Stage Protest on Podium

 

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Written by:

Samarveer Singh

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Samarveer Singh is a tennis writer at EssentiallySports. Holding a degree in English Literature and a diploma in Fitness Sciences and Training, Samarveer is obsessed with tennis and basketball. He is also an automotive writer at HotCars.
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Edited by:

Simar Singh Wadhwa