Lia Thomas Set To Be Honored As 'Voice of Inspiration' At Event Sponsored By Dodgers, LAFC
Riley Gaines questions what Thomas did to 'ignite hope and courage' in the LGBTQ+ community
It's bad enough that male transgender athletes take opportunities away from female athletes. It's worse that in some sports, they endanger the safety of female athletes by participating.
But what makes it especially infuriating is that many of these transgender athletes are honored for it.
The latest example being Lia Thomas. Thomas, a male trans-identifying swimmer, competed in women's swimming categories while at the University of Pennsylvania, taking opportunities and recognition away from female athletes. Female athletes like OutKick's Riley Gaines. Sure enough, as a reward for that appalling behavior, Thomas is now being celebrated at an event in Los Angeles. How any of this justifies celebration is beyond bewildering, but the specifics of it make it significantly worse.
At the Rainbow Labs "Violet Visionary Awards," on Thursday night, Thomas will be presented with the "Voice of Inspiration Award." Per the event website, this honor is given to "…an individual whose story and actions ignite hope and courage within the LGBTQ+ community."
Even worse? The Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Football Club soccer team are sponsors of this abhorrent farce.
Mar 19, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Penn Quakers swimmer Lia Thomas on the pool deck at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships at Georgia Tech. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Dodgers, LAFC, Support Organization Honoring Lia Thomas
It's unclear what precisely Thomas did to "ignite hope and courage." Was it winning events thanks to an unfair physical edge over female competitors? Was it making women uncomfortable by using their locker rooms and private spaces? Was it taking away opportunities from female athletes? Does it take "courage" to go from being a well below average male swimmer to frequently dominating female categories? Does Thomas' example provide "hope" for other men who want to use their innate biological advantages to beat out women instead of losing on a level playing field?
This is exactly what Riley Gaines, who has as much personal stake in this as anyone, added in a quote exclusively provided to OutKick.
"'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 said. "It’s 2025, not 2020. We’re done pretending that’s courage."
Obviously, organizations like Rainbow Labs are not interested in answering these questions. Or even dealing with the logical endpoints of their absurdist awards. They're activists who are meant to promote a specific agenda.
But you'd think professional sports teams would know better. They don't.
Prominently mentioned as sponsors of the "Violet Visionary Awards" are two of LA's biggest sports teams, the Dodgers and LA Football Club. Presumably, they would understand that men have physical strength advantages over women, since neither of their teams or organizations have female athletes playing for them.
OutKick asked both if they supported Thomas being labeled a "voice of inspiration" and asked for clarification as to what, specifically, they thought Thomas had done that was inspiring. As of time of publishing, neither had responded.
It's not surprising that they wouldn't respond, because they know how bad and embarrassing this is. For them, for this organization, and for their endless commitment to "inclusion." That inclusion only seems to go one way. People like Thomas are allowed to exclude women from events, honors, and achievements, but women must include them in their spaces.
As always, what these organizations actually support is a specific political ideology. No matter how ridiculous and offensive it is. And honoring Thomas is as ridiculous and offensive as it gets.