Michael Phelps' transgender ex-girlfriend has branded the Olympian swimmer a 'hypocrite' after his comments on trans competitors.
In a recent interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Phelps spoke about the controversy surrounding Lia Thomas, a trans swimmer who competed on the men's swimming team for three years before transitioning, who's since joined the University of Pennsylvania’s women's team.
'I can talk from a standpoint of doping. I don’t think I’ve competed in a clean field my entire career. So I think this leads back to the organising committees again,' he said.
'It has to be a level playing field. That’s something we all need. That’s what sports are. For me, I don't know where this is going to go. I don't know what's going to happen... I believe we all should be comfortable with who we are in our own skin,' Phelps continued.
'I think sports should all be played on an even playing field. I don't know what it looks like in the future. It's hard. It's very complicated and this is my sport, this has been my sport my whole entire career, and honestly the one thing I would love is everybody being able to compete on an even playing field.'
Taylor Lianne Chandler, a trans activist who previously dated Phelps, spoke to Radar Online about his comments. 'He doesn't fully understand the science, advantages or disadvantages,' she said, describing him as a 'hypocrite for saying it should be a level playing field'.
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'He is genetically superior with his 6'7" wingspan, double-jointed ankles and huge feet. His chemical composition allows him to breathe in and fill his lungs and hold his breath longer... even he says that he never competed on a level playing field, inferring doping, and they still could not beat him,' she said, adding how that comment 'hurt the most'.
'In that moment of watching and hearing him say those things, it felt like a literal slap in the face. I felt like I was good enough to love, lay with and be with, but not be respected or allowed in the women's sport of swimming – like I was not a woman, but rather an alien or God-knows-what. It can't be a woman's sport if it doesn't include all women, period!' Chandler said.
While conceding it's likely he was 'caught off guard', she said, 'The hope would have been that he would have said he supports trans youth in sports, especially trans girls, but he didn't!'
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Cameron Frew