As the acceptance of men in women’s sports continues across leagues, the lost opportunities for women pile up. The latest example comes from the Ivy League.

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas smashed university records in the 200-meter freestyle and the 500-meter freestyle, also winning the 100-meter freestyle and helping Penn win the 400-meter freestyle relay in a recent meet.

Just two years ago, Lia Thomas was competing in men’s swimming at Penn as Will Thomas. In the 2018-19 season, Thomas was a second-team All-Ivy swimmer in three different events. After last competing against men in November 2019, Thomas returned after the Ivy League canceled the 2020-21 season because of COVID to compete against women and has obviously seen great success.

Women who otherwise would have been on Penn’s team are out of luck. So are the women who would have won these events had they not been competing against a man. And more will be out of luck later on. Thomas’s times would have won silver and bronze in two events at the 2021 NCAA Women’s Championships.

We have already seen a man well past his physical prime taking a spot at the Olympics away from a 21-year-old female athlete. Now, a man who was winning against men just two years ago is dominating women’s swimming in the Ivy League, all because sports leagues and organizations are rejecting basic biology in favor of scientifically illiterate gender ideology.

This is only going to get worse, as the Olympics have now signaled their support for more men to compete in women’s events. While transgender activists continue to promote the idea that men can be women by simply identifying as such, corporations are refusing to grow a spine. Refusing to admit that the emperor has no clothes, they instead opt to stay silent.

This cultural power has been exerted against sports leagues, and, rather than stand up for their female athletes, league after league chooses to fold.

Women who have worked their entire lives for the opportunity to be great in sports must now hope that men don’t end up entering their league and stealing their opportunities.

This is going to get worse before it gets better.