Paola Scala has welcomed the news that her former teammate Lia Thomas will not be allowed to compete in the Olympics, saying she should be apologetic for being “forced to undress” with the transgender athlete “18 times a week”.
It was announced Wednesday afternoon that the 25-year-old amateur would not be allowed to compete in the Olympics after losing her legal battle to have rules prohibiting her participation overturned.
Shortly after the verdict was revealed, Scaplap took to social media to demand an apology, writing the following on Twitter (X): “Fine, but is anyone going to apologize for making us undress like him 18 times a week?”
Thomas first broke news in March 2022 when she became the first athlete to win the NCAA women’s university title, the most prestigious university title in the U.S.
But it wasn’t long before the World Aquatics Organization (WA) introduced a rule change that would prevent anyone who had gone through “any part of male puberty” from competing in the women’s category.
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Paola Scala (pictured left) has welcomed the news that her former teammate Lia Thomas (pictured right) will not be able to compete in the Olympic Games.
Instead, they created an open category for transgender athletes. However, the decision did not sit well with Thomas, who asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to revoke the rules approved in 2022.
Thomas, who played for the Pepsilvavia men’s team for three seasons before beginning hormone replacement therapy in early 2019, said the rules were invalid, illegal and discriminatory.
However, the three-judge CAS panel dismissed Thomas’s request for arbitration with World Aquatics’ governing body and dismissed the case on a “technicality.”
They said Thomas “simply did not have the right to participate in WA competitions like the Olympics or world championships” because he was no longer part of the state party.
As a result, the decision ended Thomas’ hopes of competing in the Olympics, something the 25-year-old called “deeply disappointing” in a statement provided by her legal team.
The statement shared via AP said: “Sweeping bans that prevent trans women from competing are discriminatory and deprive us of valuable sporting opportunities that are fundamental to other ideologies.”
Thomas is believed to have said that the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport should be seen as a call to action for women to “fight for their dignity and human rights.”
While the president and executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAD), Sarah Kate Ellis, said in the statement that Thomas deserves the opportunity to participate in his sport and pursue his dream.
Thomas grabbed headlines in March 2022 when she became the first athlete to win the NCAA women’s university title, the most prestigious university title in the U.S.
On Wednesday afternoon it was announced that the 25-year-old amateur would not be allowed to compete in women’s events at the Olympics.
Thomas’ former University of Pennsylvania teammate, Scaplap, took to social media shortly after the verdict was revealed to demand an apology.
She claims she was forced to undress by the transgender man in Pesilvaia
Thomas joined the Pesilvaia men’s team for three seasons before beginning hormone replacement therapy.
“World Aquatics is spreading misinformation about transgender people as a distorted way of ‘protecting women,’” Ellis added. “Transgender women are women, and every athlete who wants to play by the rules should have the opportunity to do so.”
However, the one who received the news was Scaplap, Thomas’ former teammate. Scaplap took to Twitter (X) to express his opinion following the release of the verdict.
Scaplap, who used to support Thomas at the University of Pennsylvania, retweeted the New York Post story claiming the transgender athlete would be unable to compete in the Olympics.
The post, which was viewed 3.9 million times and received 47,000 likes, read: “That’s cool, but is anyone going to apologize for making us strip like him 18 times a week?”
This is the first time Scala has spoken out against Thomas’ involvement in women’s sports; she previously criticized the Democratic Party for putting “black people’s rights” over women’s concerns.
While testifying before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution and Limited Government last week, Scala raised the issue of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
She urged lawmakers to prioritize women’s physical safety when making decisions about women-only spaces like locker rooms, after previously confessing to having “nightmares for weeks” after sharing a locker room with transgender athletes.
Having been the victim of sexual assault in a bathroom when she was 16, Scaplap shared that Thomas’ presence brought back a previous struggle from her teenage years.
In a statement to the New York Post, Scaplap commented: “In general, bathrooms were a place where I felt most uncomfortable. It just relived the situation I experienced when I was 16.”
I was at my locker and all of a sudden I would hear a male voice and it would jump out at me. I was like, “Oh my God, someone broke in!” It was incredibly vivid. I had nightmares for weeks about men in there while we were getting dressed.
Thomas sparked a wave of controversy after switching to the women’s team in 2021. She set seven U.S. women’s team records (four individual) and won three individual events at the Ivy League Championships in February 2022.
Thomas defended her place in women’s football in a Sports Illustrated interview last year. She began by saying, “I’m a woman, like everyone else on the team. I’ve always considered myself just a fan. It’s what I’ve done for so long; it’s what I’m passionate about.”
However, her critics include members of the transgender community: Olympic champion Caitlyn Jeffers does not agree that Thomas should be allowed to compete as a woman.
Scalap testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on the dangers of “gender-affirming violence” in 2023.
She says Thomas’ presence in women’s spaces made her and others feel uncomfortable.
Although Thomas’s university career is over, Scala still believes it is an important issue given that there will be similar cases in the future.
“I’ve been consistent in my approach to transgender athletes and it depends on the sport. Every sport is different,” he told Fox News earlier this year. “Obviously, we saw that Lia Thomas had gone through male puberty, had a larger cardiovascular system, it just wasn’t right.”
While Thomas’ university career is over, Scala still believes it is an important issue given that there will be similar cases in the future in amateur and professional sports.
“If there had been a guy on my team in high school, I would have quit and literally had nothing,” she told The Post. “I never would have made it to college. My entire life would have been derailed.”
“If even one girl is prevented from competing in sports because of this, we will have failed,” Scapala added. “It’s vital to give girls the same opportunities.”
