Paula Scanlan, former teammate of Lia Thomas, takes down the University of Pennsylvania

In a new interview with the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh, Paula Scanlan accused the University of Pennsylvania of requiring student athletes to “be quiet and they did so in a very effective way.”

“They kept telling us our opinions were wrong and if we had a problem with it, we were the problem and it’s scary and your future job is on the line,” Scanlan said in her interview. She also said swimmers would hide in bathroom cubicles to avoid changing in front of Thomas.

“Is there something wrong with me because I think this is wrong?… The university wanted us to be quiet and they did that in a very effective way. There was something going on in this athletic department that wanted to keep us quiet. This got scary,” Scanlan added.

Last year, Lia Thomas became the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming title at the Ivy League Penn. Thomas had previously competed on the male team. She began her transition in 2019 and joined the female team in 2021.

Paula Scanlan graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022, where she studied engineering

DailyMail.com has reached out to the University of Pennsylvania for comment on Scanlan’s allegations.

The former swimmer went to school to accuse school administrators of trying to convince those speaking that “they were the problem.”

Scanlan joins former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who recently made headlines for supporting Governor Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid when she spoke out against the presence of biological men in women’s sports.

In 2022, Scanlan appeared anonymously in Walsh’s documentary What is a Woman?

She echoed similar sentiments expressed 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 they would “regret” talking to the media about Thomas.

“We had a team meeting in 2019 led by the leader of the men’s team about how Will Thomas would join the women’s team.

“I felt shocked and a little uncomfortable, but everyone around me looked excited that someone on the men’s team is ‘living their true self,'” said Scanlan.

‘I can’t speak for everyone. But I think it was a big shock, lots of awkward smiles. But that’s just my interpretation,’ she continued.

Scanlan said the team was told that Thomas was joining the team at a meeting she attended. Scanlan admitted that she never had to compete against Thomas.

“They also told us that Lia is non-negotiable swimming with us and provided us with counseling services to ‘help us make it right’. It’s incredibly shocking,” Scanlan said.

During the interview, Walsh accused Penn officials of “psychological manipulation.”

“The most disturbing thing that has come to light is the school’s psychological manipulation that caused the real girls on the team to question their own sanity and judgment,” Walsh said.

During the interview, Matt Walsh accused Penn officials of ‘psychological manipulation’

Last year, Lia Thomas became the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming title at the Ivy League Penn

According to her profile on the University of Pennsylvania website, Scanlan is from affluent Greenwich, Connecticut. Her parents and brother are all graduates of the University of Pennsylvania.

Her father, Brian Scanlan, is described as a USA Swimming Official, in an online bio.

“What has shocked me is the amount of international messages I have received. The world looks to America to do the right thing and now more than ever it is important that we as Americans stand up for the truth. The whole world depends on us to do that,” Scanlan tweeted after the Walsh interview was released.

“As a Taiwanese citizen and also a US citizen. I can see firsthand the impact the decisions we make in America have on the world. Americans, we must step forward and do the right thing,” she added.

Transgender athletes whose biological sex was assigned at birth would be barred from participating in girls’ or women’s sports teams at federally supported schools and colleges under legislation passed by House Republicans in late April.

The bill, which passed 219-203 party lines, is unlikely to move forward because the Democrat-led Senate will not support it and the White House said President Joe Biden would veto it.

Proponents said the legislation, which would put offenders at risk of losing tax dollars, is necessary to ensure fair competition.

They proposed the vote to support female athletes who are disadvantaged by having to compete against those whose gender identification does not match the gender assigned at birth.

Scanlan echoed many of the sayings of Riley Gaines, pictured here, who was beaten in a race by Lia Thomas in 2022

Opponents criticized the bill for excluding an already vulnerable group purely for political gain.

The House action comes as at least 20 other states have imposed similar limits on trans athletes at the K-12 or collegiate level.

The bill would amend groundbreaking civil rights legislation known as Title IX, which was passed more than 50 years ago.

It would prohibit recipients of federal money from allowing a person “whose gender is male” to participate in programs intended for women or girls. The bill defines sex as “based solely on one’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

The sponsor, Representative Greg Steube, R-Fla., highlighted the case of Emma Weyant, a resident of his district and a member of the 2020 U.S. Olympic swim team, who finished second in last year’s NCAA 500-year freestyle championship. for ladies.

She was defeated by Lia Thomas, who had competed on the University of Pennsylvania men’s swim team for three years before joining the women’s team.

“The integrity of women’s sport must be protected,” Steube said.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said it was a “great day for America, a great day for girls and women and for fairness in sports.”