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Former University of Pennsylvania swimming Monika Burzynska said she was awarded the closet next to Lia Thomas when the transking athlete joined the women’s swimming team in 2021.
“He wasn’t very social,” Burzynska told Pakinomist Digital, adding that she had only ever had short, existing conversations with Thomas.
She thought Thomas was already educated when her team was treated the news that the athlete would change to join the women’s content that started in the 2021-22 season.
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University of Pennsylvania Swimmer Lia Thomas Stiller with teammates Hannah Kannan, Camryn Carter and Margot Kaczorowski after winning 400-Yard Freestyle baton during the Ivy League-Damens swimming and diving championships on February 19, 2022, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
When that season eventually began and Thomas became a permanent fixture in the woman’s dressing room, Burzynska often withdrew to the corner of the room to change. Other times, Burzynska timed exactly when she changed to collapse with when Thomas showered. Eventually, Burzynska chose to change only in the booths or in the family tablet across the hall.
“Around Lia, I didn’t want to risk anything,” said Burzynska in terms of the possibility of the trans -athlete seeing her dress up.
Burzynska has never talked about her experience of being on a team with Thomas so far, in the midst of the recent news that agreed to apologize to all the female swimmers, resign Thomas’ program records and adopt a new policy using strict biological definitions for men and women.
She said the news gave her “a deep sense of peace and validation.”
“Not just for me, but for all girls on the team, for all girls in the swimming world and in the sports world. And I think this decision brought back – at least to me – a feeling of justice lost,” said Burzynska. “Women’s posts belong to women and that protection of the integrity of women’s sports still matters.”
Still, the memories of what Burzynska and others have to endure linger.
Burzynska identifies herself as someone with conservative values, but says she grew up feeling “compassion” for transient people. Her views changed as she was placed next to Thomas in the dressing room.
“I thought it must be terrible to feel that you are trapped in the wrong body. Just be so out of contact with who you really are,” said Burzynska. “You have these problems that are long -term and you never really think they will touch you in person until you are on a team with Lia Thomas and your closet is direct next to this biological man. And you would never have thought you would face this question directly.
“And when that happens, your views change where you still think sin on this person because they are clearly so deeply lost. But then it becomes more, ‘OK, this is not fair,'” Burzynska added.
As a native in Colonia, New Jersey, Burzynska explained that she grew up in a liberal environment with prominent Pro-LGBTQ mood. These values followed her as she went to Upenn in the deep blue city of Philadelphia.
“We have a very, very much, how should I call it, as a deep LGBTQ presence on the campus, where the campus buildings or dormitory rather than fly the American flag, transflag, LGBTQ flag [were flown]. Every time I visit Penn, I see that it is like this huge skyscraper -sowing room and they have the biggest rainbow flag you could imagine, “Burzynska said.
“So I assume, in a way you can say that it encourages it if a person is very confused about their identity, and then there is this group that seems so accepting, so loving, to tell you that you could be what you want to be … It can kind, yes, encourage people to turn that way.”
Burzynska and the other female swimmers on the team at that time were allegedly forced to silence and submission of Upenn administrators.
A trial of three other former Thomas teammates, Grace, Estabrook, Margot Kaczorowski and Ellen Holmquist, claimed that university officials pressed them not to talk about their thoughts on Thomas who joins the team in public.
“The Upenn administrators continued to tell the women that if the women talked publicly about their concerns about Thomas ‘participation in the women’s team, the reputation of those complaining about Thomas would be on the team be occupied with transphobia for the rest of their lives, and they would probably never be able to get a job,'” claimed the trial.
Upenn Agree to follow Trump’s mandate to protect women’s sports after Lia Thomas -Investigation
Former Upenn Women’s Swimmer Monika Burzynska (With the permission of Monika Burzynska)
Burzynska, who had grown up in a Liberal New Jersey city, was already used to the consequences of sharing conservative values in a liberal framework.
Burzynska remembers, from a young age, often criticized for having “conservative or Republican values.”
“I had experienced it forever. And even Upenn, I think it’s every university at this point, but Upenn is very, very left.
Burzynska remembers a meaningless conversation she had with her head coach Mike Schnur as she confronted him with concern for being on a team with Thomas.
We had this long meeting, I don’t know, almost two hours long. And he said, ‘Listen, Monika, I understand all your worries. They are all valid. I don’t think any of them would discourage you from going on to your senior year and having a successful senior year. I think the one thing that would deter you is that Lia is changing in your closet space and there is nothing you could do about it, “” Burzynska said.
“I told him at that meeting, ‘what are you talking about? Like, how is it fair?’ And his answer was, ‘It’s not fair, but if you have trouble with it, come to me … Don’t talk about it with everyone else.
Burzynska said she never took Schnur up on this offer and thought he wouldn’t do anything about it anyway.
She still claims that she witnessed her teammates who had the meaningless conversations with Schnur at a distance.
Then came the administrators who allegedly pressed the women’s swimmers who opposed Thomas to go to Pro-LGBTQ advice. Burzynska said she called the counseling session “brainwash meetings.”
She never attended the sessions.
Burzynska has since gone on from the situation and has embraced his life and career beyond that.
She still admits that parts of the situation introduced “trauma” into her, and she is grateful that President Donald Trump’s administration made it a priority to incorporate consequences for Upenn.
“You [women’s] The rights in Penn were clearly compromised, so it’s amazing that they looked at it and Trump took it so seriously, ”said Burzynska.
Pakinomist Digital has reached Upenn for a response to Burzynska’s statement.
