Former ESPN personality Pablo Torre has been the center of controversy this week following his remarks about former NCAA swimmers Riley Gaines and Lia Thomas. Thomas, who made history as the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA title in 2022, has been at the center of a heated debate regarding transgender inclusion in women’s sports. After her successful stint at the University of Pennsylvania, the Ivy League institution announced in July that all of Thomas’s Division I records and titles would be reinstated to female athletes.
Penn’s President J. Larry Jameson acknowledged that while the school’s policies were in line with NCAA eligibility rules during the 2021-2022 season, some student-athletes felt disadvantaged. He emphasized the university’s commitment to recognizing the anxiety and competitive disadvantage that these policies may have caused.
In the midst of this discussion, Gaines, who fiercely opposes the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports, was brought into the spotlight due to Torre’s comments regarding her past. Torre revealed on his podcast that Gaines’s former swimming coach at the University of Kentucky faced allegations of sexual assault, prompting questions about her stance on sexual misconduct in the sports community.
Torre pointed out a perceived double standard in Gaines’s accusations against Thomas, suggesting that while she criticized Thomas, she remained silent about her own coach’s alleged misconduct. “Riley Gaines now seems to get paid to accuse Lia Thomas of doing something similar…while ALSO never speaking aloud about her male coach/’best friend’ getting banned for life after multiple rape allegations,” Torre posted on social media.
In response, former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Paula Scanlan defended Thomas and shared her own traumatic experiences as Thomas’s teammate. She expressed her distress over being forced to undress with Thomas and emphasized that her concerns stemmed from a place of personal trauma. “Hey Pablo, I was sexually assaulted as a teenager and THEN I was forced to undress with Lia Thomas in a locker room 18 times per WEEK I was on the team. He is a man. It was disgusting, violating and traumatizing. Is that enough for you to understand?” Scanlan wrote.
As of now, Torre has yet to respond to Scanlan’s remarks, but he continues to engage in public disputes, including a feud with former Fox News personality Megyn Kelly. This ongoing dialogue highlights the complexities of discussions surrounding gender identity in sports and the personal stories that influence opinions on this contentious issue.