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2022 NCAA women’s swimming champion Lia Thomas, who is transgender, will be the recipient of the Voice of Inspiration Award at Rainbow Labs’ Violet Visionary Awards on Thursday.
Thomas’ national title sparked nationwide backlash and is considered one of the catalysts in the battle over transgender athlete participation in girls’ and women’s sports.
The award”honors an individual whose story and actions ignite hope and courage within the LGBTQ+ community,” according to Rainbow Labs’ website.
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Penn Quakers swimmer Lia Thomas prepares for the 100 free at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships at Georgia Tech. (Brett Davis/USA Today Sports)
The annual event “honors individuals and organizations that embody the spirit of empowerment, resilience, and joy. We will uplift the power of LGBTQIA+ expression—in fashion, art, dance, voice, and story—as a revolutionary force fueling queer joy and collective freedom,” the site says, adding that it will “[celebrate] LGBTQIA+ leaders, mentors, and changemakers who are lighting the way for the next generation.”
Riley Gaines, who competed against Thomas and tied the former UPenn swimmer at the national tournament, was not pleased.
FILE – University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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“Voice of inspiration? The only people Will Thomas inspires are other men who realized you can take everything from women – our records, our spaces, our opportunities – and still get a standing ovation,” Gaines told OutKick, using Thomas’ birth name. “It’s 2025, not 2020. We’re done pretending that’s courage.”
OutKick first reported on Thomas’ recognition at the event.
The event is sponsored by both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Football Club, among others. Both clubs did not respond to a request from OutKick about whether Thomas should be honored as a “voice of inspiration.”
The Dodgers previously honored the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of anti-Catholic drag “nuns,” with their Community Hero Award at Pride Night in 2023. Their original invitation was rescinded after backlash from both fans and players, but they were reinvited, and the team issued an apology.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are recognized before the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium on June 16, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
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Twenty-nine states have regulations regarding trans athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. President Donald Trump signed an executive order prohibiting trans athletes from competing against females in February.
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