‘Is there something wrong with me for thinking this is wrong?… The university wanted us to be quiet and they did it in a very effective way. There was something going on in this athletic department that wanted to keep us quiet. This was getting scary,’ Scanlan added.
The former swimmer went on to accuse school administrators of convincing those who spoke out that ‘they were the issue.’
In 2022, Scanlan appeared anonymously in Walsh’s documentary What is a Woman?
She echoed similar sentiments put forward by Gaines saying in her interview: ‘This is about fighting for women and girls across the country.’
Scanlan further accused Penn officials of telling swimmers that they ‘would regret’ speaking to the media about Thomas.
‘We had a team meeting led by the leader of the men’s team in 2019 about how Will Thomas would be joining the women’s team.
‘I felt shocked and a little uncomfortable, but everyone around me looked excited for someone in the men’s team to be “living their true self”,’ Scanlan said.
‘I can’t speak for everyone. But I think it was a lot of shock, a lot of uncomfortable smiling. But that’s just my interpretation,’ she continued.
Scanlan said the team was told Thomas was joining the team in a meeting where she was present. Scanlan admitted that she never had to compete against Thomas.
‘They also told us Lia swimming with us is non-negotiable and provided us with counselling services to “help us be okay” with it. It’s incredibly startling,’ Scanlan said.
During the interview, Walsh accused Penn officials of taking part in ‘psychological manipulation.’
‘The most disturbing thing that revealed is the psychological manipulation from the school that made the real girls on the team question their own common sense and judgment,’ Walsh said.
According to her profile on the University of Pennsylvania’s website, Scanlan is a native of affluent Greenwich, Connecticut. Her parents and brother are all University of Pennsylvania graduates.
Her father, Brian Scanlan, is described as a USA Swimming Official in an online bio.
‘Something that has shocked me is the volume of international messages I have received. The world looks to America to do the right and thing and now more than ever it is important as Americans we stand up for the truth. The whole world depends on us to do so,’ Scanlan tweeted after the Walsh interview was released.
‘As a Taiwanese citizen as well as a US citizen. I’m able to see first hand the impact the decisions we make in America have on the world. Americans we need to step up and do the right thing,’ she added.
Transgender athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth was male would be barred from competing on girls or women’s sports teams at federally supported schools and colleges under legislation pushed through in late April by House Republicans.
The bill approved by a 219-203 party-line vote is not likely to move foreward because the Democratic-led Senate will not back it and the White House said President Joe Biden would veto it.
Supporters said the legislation, which would put violators in danger of losing taxpayer dollars, is crucial to guarantee competitive fairness.
They framed the vote as supporting female athletes disadvantaged by being forced to compete against those whose gender identify does not equate their sex given at birth.
A teammate of Lia Thomas appeared in What Is A Woman anonymously. A few days ago she came to us and said she is ready to come out publicly and tell her story. I had a longer conversation with Paula where she revealed a number of details that weren't covered in the film. Watch: pic.twitter.com/wlknGmslJC
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 5, 2023
The amount of REAL women that got trampled for Lia Thomas to compete is inequality at its finest. https://t.co/LXEhjcjpie
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) June 6, 2023
UPenn Swimmer @PaulaYScanlan speaks out publicly for the first time about competing against Lia Thomas and how female swimmers were silenced from speaking out.
“Is there something wrong with me for thinking this is wrong?” @MattWalshBlog 🏊♀️🌊
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) June 5, 2023
Hold onnnn but at minute 44 we see a new face emerge to the scene!!! Lia Thomas' teammate, Paula Scanlan. She has insight and stories that are unfathomable. I'm so glad she's ready to speak to the silencing, gaslighting, and discrimination we faced (her team at UPenn especially)… https://t.co/HTh1nc7gWC
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) June 5, 2023