Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas is being celebrated in Los Angeles Thursday with a “Voice of Inspiration” award — but not everyone’s applauding.
Thomas, who was born a male and identifies as female, will receive the award at the Violet Visionary Awards, a move that sparked fierce backlash from Riley Gaines.
While Thomas, 26, won the NCAA Division 1 500-yard freestyle in 2022, Gaines, 25, finished fifth in the same race.
The event sparked a national debate, as Gaines and her supporters said Thomas’ NCAA victories came at the expense of women who trained their entire lives to compete fairly.
“‘Voice of inspiration?’ The only people Lia Thomas inspires are other men who realized you can take everything from women — our records, our spaces, our opportunities — and still get a standing ovation,” Gaines told Outkick.
“It’s 2025, not 2020. We’re done pretending that’s courage.”
The award celebrates what organizers call “LGBTQIA+ leaders, mentors, and changemakers lighting the way for the next generation.”
According to Rainbow Labs, which holds the awards ceremony, the Voice of Inspiration Award is given to “an individual whose story and actions ignite hope and courage within the LGBTQ+ community.”
Newsmax has reached out to Rainbow Labs for comment on why Thomas was chosen for the award.
The group’s mission is to ensure “all Queer and Gender Nonconforming Youth across the United States have access to our safe and affirming mentoring program,” promoting “empowerment, resilience, and joy.”
The Violet Visionary Awards are being sponsored by major LA sports franchises, including the Dodgers and the Los Angeles Football Club, lending high-profile backing.
Thomas has consistently defended her right to compete as a woman. In a 2022 ESPN interview, she said, “Trans women competing in women’s sports does not threaten women’s sports.”
In another interview, she added, “I’m not a man. I’m a woman, so I belong on the women’s team.”
Rainbow Labs describes its event as “an unforgettable evening honoring individuals and organizations that embody the spirit of empowerment, resilience, and joy.”
It says it seeks to “uplift the power of LGBTQIA+ expression — in fashion, art, dance, voice, and story — as a revolutionary force fueling queer joy and collective freedom.”
But Gaines and others say that by honoring Thomas, the group is celebrating exclusion, not empowerment — and rewriting the meaning of inspiration itself.
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