Lia Thomas Resurfaces to Accept “Voice of Inspiration Award” in Los Angeles

Former UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas made a notable public appearance on Thursday night in Los Angeles after largely staying out of the public eye in recent years. The 26-year-old transgender athlete, who stands approximately 6-foot-5, arrived at the Serra on Vine venue wearing a purple dress and stilettos to accept the “Voice of Inspiration Award” at the 2025 Violet Visionary Awards. This event was organized by the nonprofit Rainbow Labs and sponsored by several Los Angeles sports organizations, including the Dodgers and LA Football Club. The ceremony featured drag performances before Thomas took the stage to accept her award, with a video montage highlighting her journey from competing on the men’s team as William Thomas to entering women’s competition in 2022 as Lia Thomas. The presentation portrayed Thomas as an athlete fighting for acceptance while facing significant public backlash.

During her emotional acceptance speech, Thomas reflected on her personal journey, saying, “It makes me very emotional because I remember all too well not that long ago being 18 and just realizing that I’m trans. And feeling so excited at the prospect of being able to be who I am, but feeling so terrified to take those steps because I didn’t know any other trans people.” She described feeling that being open about her identity seemed like “an impossible mountain to climb” and credited having transgender mentors who helped her find the courage to be herself and reconcile her transgender identity with her athletic career. Thomas expressed particular gratitude for these mentors who helped her navigate the transition to competing as a transgender woman, acknowledging how influential they were in helping her find her path forward despite considerable obstacles.

Thomas also addressed the significant controversy and backlash she has faced since competing in women’s swimming. Following her participation in women’s competitions, several female athletes, including OutKick’s Riley Gaines who competed against Thomas, spoke out against allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports. This issue became politically significant during the 2024 presidential campaign, with then-President-elect Donald Trump supporting these concerns and eventually issuing an executive order banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports. Trump’s administration even paused federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania over their decision to allow Thomas to compete with women, though UPenn later became the third school to reject these funding conditions. Despite these challenges, Thomas spoke about receiving messages of violence on social media but remained determined to use her platform for advocacy.

Throughout the event, speakers presented LGBTQ+ Americans as living under oppression and celebrated transgender individuals as heroes of the movement. This framing stands in contrast to public opinion polls showing that nearly 70 percent of Americans oppose transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Critics have also raised concerns about biological males sharing locker room spaces with female athletes. Nevertheless, Thomas remains committed to her advocacy, describing her platform as an influential transgender figure as “my purpose.” She stated, “I owe so much to those mentors before me that it sort of was clear that I had to be that next beacon in a line of torches going back hundreds of years of trans people. That was my purpose. That was what I was here to do. And so to be able to be that next light for people is an honor I can’t describe.”

The ceremony reflected broader efforts to integrate LGBTQ+ advocacy into mainstream American culture, particularly within sports communities. Daisy Chavez, speaking on behalf of an LA Football Club group, emphasized their commitment to supporting queer individuals within the Los Angeles community, stating, “We are a community of queer fans, local leaders, supporters, and activists of the Los Angeles Football Club. And if you don’t know, we follow sports because we’ve always been here. We’ve been athletes, we’ve been fans, we’ve been lovers of the sports.” Her remarks highlighted the group’s mission to increase visibility and representation for LGBTQ+ people in sports spaces, asserting that “our presence with this club reminds not just the club, the community, but the world that we’ve always been here.”

Thomas’s reemergence into public life comes at a time when debates about transgender athletes in women’s sports have intensified across the United States. Women’s rights activists like Riley Gaines have continued to speak out about what they see as lost opportunities and awards for women due to the inclusion of transgender athletes in female competitions. While major media networks like ESPN have often promoted transgender inclusion in sports, public opinion remains divided, with a majority of Americans expressing opposition to biological males competing in women’s categories. The event concluded with additional awards and performances, including recognition for a gender-nonconforming individual named “Alok” and entertainment that included a stripper show, presenting a range of expressions that organizers positioned as inspirational for their community but that critics might view as undermining the event’s stated purpose of providing positive role models.