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Did US Women’s Swimming Team Really Threaten to Quit Over Lia Thomas Olympics Tryout? Exploring Viral Rumor
There have been speculations and rumors that the US Women's Swimming Team threatened to quit over Lia Thomas Olympics tryout. Let's find out the truth.
There are rumors that the Women's Swimming Team threatened to quit if the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee allowed Lia Thomas a tryout. The transgender swimmer lost a legal battle at the world’s top court in matters of sporting fairness; the Court of Arbitration of Sport in Switzerland.
The swimmer was banned from participating in the elite women's races this year by The Court of Arbitration for Sport panel and according to that, she was not eligible to challenge the World Aquatics policy on trans athletes.
Now that the Olympics are near, there have been circulations that the women's swimming team threatened to leave if Lia was allowed any tryouts. Is this claim true? Let's find out.
Did the women's swimming team threaten to quit over Lia Thomas' Olympics tryout?
No! The claim has no evidence!
Lia Thomas, the NCAA Division I national championship winner couldn't win the case against World Aquatics which banned transgender athletes from competing in women’s events and hence, she cannot take part in the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.
Meanwhile, there were some circulations that the US Women's Swimming Team decided to not take part if the transgender swimmer is allowed any tryout. Several social media accounts shared such news on different platforms.
Additionally, a headline by an article by Dunning-Kruger-Times.com, a subsidiary of America's Last Line of Defense read, “US Women's Team Says They'll All Quit If Lia Thomas Gets a Tryout: "We Don't Need a Ringer.”
The body part of the article stated that “16 members of the US National Women's Team said that they will “quit” if Lia Thomas “gets so much as a tryout.”
The article further read, “None of these women want to spend their locker room time looking at male genitals just for an advantage," said Coach Joe Barron, "they'd rather win honestly than to have a ringer on the team.”
So, is this true? Let's take note of the site which reported the news. If you click on the outlet's “About Us” section, it clearly says that they are “parody” and “satire” in nature.
The website states that it is the user's responsibility how to use or react to what they read on the site. They don't take any accountability for any damage as “everything on this site is fiction.” One cannot complain about lies or fake news since “it is not real,” they mentioned.
There are no reliable reports or evidence that the women's swimming team threatened to quit over Lia Thomas' Olympics tryout.
Here is what U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Jon Mason replied about the claims
As per a report by Reuters, when asked for a comment, the vice president of strategic communications at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Jon Mason responded via email that the claims are “100% fabricated.”
In the meantime, the representatives of the swimmer and the USA Swimming did not reply to the comments as per Reuters.
Meanwhile, there are several satire and parody accounts on the internet that post functional news and memes for entertainment. Such reports by such accounts are not to be taken seriously before reading the same from any reliable source.
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