On October 17, 2025, the spotlight in the ongoing debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports shone brightly once again, as Lia Thomas, the former University of Pennsylvania swimmer, accepted the “Voice of Inspiration Award” at Rainbow Labs’ Violet Visionary Awards in Los Angeles. Sponsored by the Los Angeles Dodgers and LA Football Club, the event celebrated LGBTQ+ individuals whose stories have inspired hope and courage within their communities. The honor, however, reignited fierce controversy, drawing sharp criticism from Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer who has become a leading advocate for protecting women’s sports.
The Violet Visionary Awards, held at Serra on Vine, were designed to uplift the power of LGBTQIA+ expression in fashion, art, dance, and story, according to Rainbow Labs. The “Voice of Inspiration Award” specifically recognizes an individual whose journey has ignited hope and courage within the LGBTQ+ community. This year, the award went to Lia Thomas, who made headlines in 2022 after winning the NCAA Division I women’s 500-yard freestyle championship, becoming the first openly transgender athlete to claim such a title in collegiate swimming.
Thomas, dressed in a striking purple gown and high heels, took the stage after a video montage chronicled her path from competing as William Thomas on the men’s team to living authentically and competing in women’s events. Her emotional acceptance speech resonated with many in the audience. “It makes me very emotional because I remember all too well not that long ago being 18 and just realizing that I'm trans,” Thomas told the crowd. “And feeling so excited at the prospect of being able to be who I am, but feeling so terrified to take those steps because I didn’t know any other trans people. I didn’t — I barely knew what being trans meant.”
But not everyone was celebrating. Riley Gaines, who tied with Thomas for fifth place in the 200-meter freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Championships but was denied the fifth-place trophy in favor of Thomas, took to social media to voice her outrage. “Last night Will Thomas was awarded the ‘Voice of Inspiration’ award at a Dodgers-sponsored event,” Gaines posted. “The only people he’s inspired are other opportunistic men who realized they can violate & steal from women and be celebrated for it.”
Gaines’s remarks quickly went viral, attracting both support and condemnation. Supporters praised her for standing up for what they see as fairness in women’s sports, while critics accused her of perpetuating transphobia and misunderstanding the complexities of gender identity and athletic competition. Yet, Gaines’s stance has remained steadfast since the infamous 2022 NCAA podium incident. She has become one of the most outspoken voices in the campaign to maintain single-sex categories in sports, frequently appearing in interviews, podcasts, and at public events to argue her case.
The rivalry between Thomas and Gaines has become emblematic of a larger cultural and political battle. Their first public clash came during the 2022 NCAA Championships, where both swimmers finished with identical times in the 200-meter freestyle. In a controversial decision, officials handed the fifth-place trophy to Thomas, instructing Gaines to pose with the sixth-place award for photos since there was only one fifth-place trophy available. The incident left Gaines frustrated and galvanized her transformation from collegiate athlete to activist.
Since then, Gaines has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, joined by other former competitors of Thomas, including Kylee Alons and Kaitlyn Wheeler. The lawsuit, which partially advanced past motions to dismiss on September 27, 2025, challenges the participation of transgender athletes in women’s collegiate sports. Meanwhile, three of Thomas’s former UPenn teammates—Grace Estabrook, Margot Kaczorowski, and Ellen Holmquist—have filed a separate lawsuit against the university and the Ivy League, highlighting the far-reaching impact of the controversy.
Thomas, for her part, has addressed the criticism head-on. In a recent interview, she spoke candidly about her journey and the challenges she’s faced. “You don't get to pick and choose when you see me as a woman. You don't get to say, ‘You can be a woman in these situations, but not in these,’ because you would never do that to a cis woman,” Thomas said. “But for trans women, a lot of people think ‘Oh, it’s okay for me to be the arbiter and pick and choose when I see them as women.’”
She also defended the fairness of her participation in women’s sports, citing the effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). “There are massive losses to muscle mass, strength and endurance, and to make blanket statements like, ‘Oh, I see you as a woman, but you just shouldn’t compete in women's sports' is both transphobic and not reflective of the realities of being trans and being on HRT,” Thomas argued. However, a study by the Macdonald–Laurier Institute, cited by critics, contends that testosterone suppression results in only about a 5% loss in muscle and strength after 12 months, and that the male musculoskeletal advantage is largely retained.
The debate is hardly confined to the pool. The Dodgers, who sponsored the Violet Visionary Awards, have faced similar controversies before. In 2023, the team drew backlash for honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a drag group, during Pride Night. The team initially rescinded the invitation following criticism but later reinstated it and issued an apology. This latest episode has once again placed the organization at the center of a heated national conversation.
For Thomas, the journey has been about more than athletic achievement. She recounted coming out as trans in the summer of 2018, supported by her then-girlfriend and buoyed by the queer community. “That evening when we got home, I came out to her. And I think that might have been the first time I said ‘I’m trans,' out loud. And that was a very huge milestone, and she was incredibly supportive,” Thomas shared.
Multiple former teammates and competitors have spoken out about their experiences sharing the pool and locker room with Thomas, with opinions ranging from empathy to a sense of unfairness. Former UPenn swimmer Monika Burzynska said, “I thought it must be terrible to feel like you're trapped in the wrong body. Just be so out of touch with who you really are. ... But then it turns into more, ‘OK, this is not fair.’”
In June 2025, the University of Pennsylvania reached an agreement with the Trump administration to remove Thomas’s swimming records from the women’s program archives and adopt policies to keep biological males out of women’s sports. This move sparked further debate, with some hailing it as a victory for women’s rights and others decrying it as discriminatory.
As the dust settles from the Violet Visionary Awards, the battle lines remain firmly drawn. Thomas’s award and Gaines’s response have once again thrust the issue into the national conversation, with both sides vowing to continue their fight. The future of women’s sports—and the inclusion of transgender athletes within them—remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: neither side is backing down anytime soon.
