America
SheWon.org lists Emma Weyant in first place, Erica Sullivan in second, and Brooke Forde in third in the 2022 NCAA Women’s Swimming Championship 500-yard freestyle final.
Lia Thomas was the first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA championship.
Turning the Tide
Women’s groups fight back against biological males in sports.
A BY VAN CHARLES
s a middle school stu- dent, Macy Petty dreamed of playing volleyball in college.
Years of hard work and dedica-
tion to her sport got her to the prec- ipice of that dream when college scouts were on hand to watch her play in a club tournament. Little did she know, when that day
arrived, that on the other side of the net would be a biological male — a player whose power and skills were nothing like she’d ever seen. Petty said the experi-
ence was “frightening,” and she feared for the safe- ty of the women around her.
24 NEWSMAX | DECEMBER 2024 Marshi Smith was liv-
ing her best life as a stay- at-home mom following a brilliant swimming career that included winning an NCAA title in the 100-yard backstroke at the Univer- sity of Arizona. She also worked in medical sales. That all changed in an
Smith, a cofounder of
the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, said seeing that happen to one of her fellow women ath- letes was “devastating.” Petty and Smith are
SMITH
instant. During the 2022 NCAA swimming finals, she witnessed a biologi- cal male, Lia Thomas, tie for fifth place in the 200- yard freestyle title with a female athlete, Riley Gaines. Thomas won the women’s 500-yard free- style championship — a first for an openly trans- gender swimmer.
PETTY
now among those leading the charge to rid girls’ and women’s athletics of bio- logical males, a movement
they say is winning and growing big- ger by the day. “This is truly a flashpoint for
women’s athletics,” said Petty, who went on to play Division I volleyball at Lee University and is now the legislative strategist and women’s sports spokesperson for Concerned Women for America. “This is incredibly unpopular,” she said, referencing national poll-
THOMAS/JUSTIN CASTERLINE/GETTY IMAGES / HEADSHOTS COURTESY OF SMITH AND PETTY
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