Paula Scanlan Talks To OutKick About UPenn, Lia Thomas: 'They Knew They Were Wrong'

Paula Scanlan, a former teammate of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the University of Pennsylvania, is glad that her alma mater has finally agreed to apologize for allowing a biological male to compete on the women's team and change in the women's locker room.

OutKick was the first media outlet to report that the university agreed to resolve a Title IX violation with the Department of Education on Tuesday, stemming from Thomas' participation on the women's swimming team. 

Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Paula Scanlan, who was teammates with transgender Lia Thomas, told OutKick that UPenn knew they were wrong to allow Thomas on women's team.

(Getty Images & Imagn Images)

On Wednesday, Scanlan joined OutKick's "Hot Mic" to talk with Jonathan Hutton and Chad Withrow about the resolution. 

"I think it really shows us that the University of Pennsylvania knows that they were in the wrong," Scanlan said. "They wouldn't have come to this agreement if they truly believed what they had done to us. They would have doubled-down on it." 

Scanlan, who had previously expressed the emotional distress she suffered from being forced to change with a biological male in the women's locker room for an entire season, added that many UPenn alums reached out to her after she spoke out against the injustice. 

"Over the last couple of years… 40 different people have reached out to me saying they're alums, and they never want to give the school another penny over this issue," she said. 

Scanlan has become a prominent voice in the pro-woman movement to protect women's sports and private spaces from the invasion of men. She was the first UPenn swimmer to speak out about Thomas, but had to do so anonymously in the beginning because she feared she would be kicked out of school and ostracized. 

However, she eventually made the decision that any backlash would be worth speaking out against something she viewed as wrong. Scanlan urged the University of Pennsylvania to follow her lead and come out strongly against men in women's sports. 

"What I've learned with, not just this issue, but really everything in the entire world, if you are soft on something you make everyone unhappy," Scanlan told OutKick. "By being soft on this and giving this very stupid statement that they gave us, you've made the Lia Thomases of the world angry, but you're also making us angry as well… the University of Pennsylvania should be firm in what they're doing and stand by it." 

Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Paula Scanlan, who was teammates with transgender Lia Thomas, told OutKick that UPenn knew they were wrong to allow Thomas on women's team.

(Jasper Colt/USA TODAY)

Although Scanlan is happy that people are finally speaking out en masse about the injustice of men competing in women's sports, she recounted that it was a difficult thing to do a few years ago when Lia Thomas was dominating women in the swimming pool. 

"Back in the day in 2021, we were made to believe that we were going to kill someone, or we were a bigot, or we were racist if we didn't want a man on our team and undressing in our locker room… that is exactly what we were told," Scanlan said. 

Even one of her female teammates attacked Scanlan for speaking out against Lia Thomas. Scanlan posted a text message that she received from that teammate. 

"That teammate who felt the need to send me that horrible text message… probably is dead silent now because we are in the majority now, not the minority," Scanlan said. 

That's the beauty of common sense. It eventually wins out. Common sense is finally winning on the issue of men in women's sports, and that's a victory for everyone in America.