In an interview Friday, Rice swim coach Seth Huston blasted the NCAA and the University of Pennsylvania for allowing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete as a woman.
Huston told Swimswam that it was “black and white” that allowing Thomas to compete as a woman is entirely unfair and blasted the NCAA for its gutless handling of the situation.
“The NCAA once again has proven that it is not leading. It is not really even following,” Huston told Swimswam on Jan. 21. “The NCAA governance has become a bystander waiting for other organizations to make tough decisions. They hoped NIL would continue to be suppressed, and now they are scrambling to make it fit their construct. Now they sit on the sidelines with Transgender issues.”
Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, walks to the pool to swim for the University of Pennsylvania at an Ivy League meet against Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 22, 2022. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
Huston, who has been head coach of the Rich team for 19 seasons, added that he sees no issue with Thomas competing as a college swimmer, but not in the women’s division.
“I respect Lia Thomas, her transition, and all of that. And I am completely OK with (her having) the opportunity to compete. Because that would be a Title IX issue,” he said, “But I think another thing within Title IX is that we have to be given time to accommodate, I guess you could say whether that is creating a third division, a transgender division, or whatever.
“In the meantime, Lia has every right to compete. But I think, black and white right now, you compete as what you were biologically born until we get to a point where we’ve expanded opportunities, you know for instance, in transgender,” Huston added.
Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, warms up before swimming for the University of Pennsylvania at an Ivy League meet against Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 22, 2022. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
The respected coach insisted that “bowing to one person (Thomas)” is being done to the “detriment of thousands of other athletes potentially. And I don’t think that’s right.” He added, “patently unfair to all the other competitors.”
“I think there’s going to be a lot of frustrated competitors and families and fans in the sport in the end if we continue down this short-term road right now.,” Huston exclaimed.
Coach Huston will be a hard target for the left to destroy. Huston has prominent standing in the swimming world after nearly two decades as a head coach at a top-tier college and being honored as a member of the CSCAA’s “100 Greatest Coaches” list.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.
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