A group of U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS) swimmers have spoken out against USMS for what they say is a “PR campaign” to dismiss concerns about transgender athletes in competition.
After an alleged transgender athlete competed in the USMS Spring National Championships, the organization has faced backlash and has reached out to members.
The organization sent an email to members “We need your help setting the record straight as part of our newly launched #SwimsuitsNotLawsuits campaign,” the email to members said according to a Fox News Report, encouraging members to “share correct information when you see or hear inaccurate statements. Please help us by providing facts in response, whether it’s on social media, at the pool, or in your local community. Let others know what’s great about our organization.”
USMS has revised its gender policy since the meet, allowing transgender athletes to participate in masters events, but not be recognized competitively.
“This situation began with rumors about one member’s performance at our Spring Nationals in April in San Antonio. An external organization fueled online speculation about this swimmer’s eligibility, which led to protests from fellow members and an investigation by the Attorney General in Texas,” the email stated.
Several masters swimmers have interpreted the email as “insulting.”
“I think the email from USMS is insulting to the women who unknowingly competed against men and to all the members of USMS who support fairness in women’s sports, and it pisses me off,” Wendy Enderle told Fox News.
“It also makes me feel like my concerns have been dismissed and that U.S. Masters Swimming is trying to sweep this under the rug with a PR campaign, especially given the fact that they have yet to respond to the eligibility review requests submitted three months ago.”
She isn’t the only swimmer speaking out.
“USMS is asking members to publicly support the organization through a PR campaign, while continuing to ignore the women who were directly affected,” Angie Griffin said. “We’re not asking for much, just a response. Those of us who took the time to file formal protests deserve to be taken seriously. A simple answer would go a long way toward rebuilding trust.
“I appreciate that USMS has since revised its eligibility policy. That’s a step in the right direction. But real accountability means recognizing past harm — not rewriting history or shifting blame. Until that happens, asking us to be the public voice defending the organization feels premature and unfair.”
The USMS responded by saying the email was not about the eligibility review process.
“USMS’s eligibility review process for one swimmer is still ongoing. We are navigating our process in a fair and deliberate manner and expect to have a decision soon. The members who submitted protests will be the first to know when that process is complete,” a USMS spokesperson told Fox News. “The messaging we sent to our members had nothing to do with the eligibility review process. We launched our ‘Swimsuits Not Lawsuits’ campaign to correct misleading public statements about USMS and clarify what we do. Our mission is to empower adults to improve their lives through swimming.
“We believe asking for our members’ help correcting misperceptions is an appropriate way to limit resources spent on legal action so it can be used for its intended purpose of serving our 60,000 members, and the response from our members thus far has been positive.”
