Champion swimmer Michael Phelps has described the controversy that surrounds  transgender swimmer Lia Thomas is ‘very complicated’ – before adding that sports need a ‘level playing field’ to be fair. 

Phelps, the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals, compared the issue of athletes like Thomas to doping in order to secure a competitive advantage in the pool. 

Talk to CNN, Phelps insisted that there was something to be done regarding current NCAA guidelines which allow Thomas to compete with swimmers who were born male, but could not share specific suggestions. 

“It must be level for everyone, and this is why I think it leads to organizing committees. It’s what we all want. Sports are a sport. This is where I am at the moment. It’s not clear what will happen. 

Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps, 36, has reacted to the ongoing debate over trans college athlete Lia Thomas competing on women's swim team

Michael Phelps is an Olympic swimmer and has now reacted to controversy surrounding Lia Thomas being a transgender athlete on the women’s team.

'It's very complicated. We all should feel comfortable with who we are in our own skin. But I think sports should be played on an even playing field,' he said to CNN¿s Christiane Amanpour

It’s complicated. All of us should be comfortable in who and what we are. But I think sports should be played on an even playing field,’ he said to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour 

Phelps  holds the all-time record for Olympic gold medals at 13. He says he simply wants to see a fairness across the sport

Phelps  holds the all-time record for Olympic gold medals at 13. According to Phelps, he wants the sport to be fair.

Phelps, who also holds the all-time record for Olympic gold medals at 13, said he simply wants to see a fairness across the sport.   

He stated, “I think that everyone should be comfortable in their skin. But I believe sports should be played on an equal playing field.” 

“I have no idea what the future will look like.” It’s hard. It is difficult.

While the NCAA states that they will be reviewing its guidelines on Thursday for male-to–female transathletes, it has not yet commented on whether any changes may be in store.

Trans women are allowed to compete with any female athletes if they have had suppression treatment for at least one year. However, critics claim that that’s insufficient. This is evident by Thomas’s stunning wins. They also point out that trans athletes have significant advantages over their female counterparts due to the fact that they are taller and more muscular.  

Thomas’ swimmer teammates have not publicly voiced their opinions on the issue, but some of them have done so anonymously, complaining that Thomas is arrogant, that her teammates are angry, and that Thomas is only obsessed with winning. 

She likens Jackie Robinson to herself. One of Thomas’ trans-sports teammates said that she was like Jackie Robinson. Robinson was first African-American baseball player to play in Major League Baseball. 

Last week, Thomas, pictured, was crushed twice in a women's swim meet by another transgender competitor who is transitioning from female to male

Thomas (pictured) was twice beaten last week by another transgender swimmer who is transitioning to male gender.

Thomas came out as transgender in 2019 and under NCAA rules was eligible to switch from the men's team to the women's after taking a year of testosterone suppressants

Thomas came out as transgender in 2019 and under NCAA rules was eligible to switch from the men's team to the women's after taking a year of testosterone suppressants

Thomas was identified as transgender by the NCAA in 2019. He is eligible, under NCAA rules, to change from the men’s to women’s teams after completing a year on testosterone suppressants

She laughs at it, and makes fun of the situation. Instead of showing empathy or caring about the situation, or even caring enough to show that she does care, Lia is not at all sympathetic. Lia has never spoken to our team. Lia never inquired if everything was okay. She has never attempted to express her feelings. As a group, she never said anything. She has never spoken to us as a group. 

Thomas, who set three school records as well as two national records in swimming, dismissed the controversy by telling SwimSwam that it wasn’t healthy for him to do so.

Thomas’s transition feats have not been well received by her teammates. Two swimmers anonymously complained to media days after Zippy International about an ‘absence of fairness’

“They are being forced to get behind the scenes knowing that no matter what happens, there is not a chance for them to win.” One of them told OutKick that he believes it is really getting to everyone.

UPenn and the Ivy League have publicly supported Thomas competing in swim meets. 'Lia Thomas has met or exceeded all NCAA protocols over the past two years for a transgender male student-athlete to compete for a women's team. She will continue to represent the Penn women's swimming team in competition this season.'

Thomas has been publicly supported by UPenn, the Ivy League and other swim meet organizers. “Lia Thomas met or exceeded all NCAA protocol over the last two years to be a transgender student-athlete for a female team. She will be representing Penn in the competitions for women’s swimming this season.

DailyMail.com discovered that Thomas’ dominance was being challenged by parents from 10 other swimmers.

They wrote that “the integrity of women’s sports is at stake,” in a letter they sent to NCAA officials and was forwarded to Penn and the Ivy League.

‘The precedent being set – one in which women do not have a protected and equitable space to compete – is a direct threat to female athletes in every sport. How do you define the boundary?  

Thomas competed previously on the team as a man for three years. 

Transgender athletes are allowed to participate as women in NCAA competitions if they have had testosterone suppression over a period of one year. 

However, scientists claim that this is not enough because male-to-female Trans athletes have significant muscle and height advantages over their female counterparts.  

Thomas has been blowing women’s swimming records out of the water and there is even a chance she might win national championships and even compete for all-time NCAA records set by Olympic gold medalists Missy Franklin and Katie Ledecky. 

January's swim last week was the Penn team's first since Lia Thomas blew away the competition and shattered two national women's records at the Zippy International in Ohio. Pictured: Thomas training with the team at Sailfish Splash Waterpart in Florida

The Penn swim in January was their first since Lia Thomas won the race and broke two records at Zippy International, Ohio. Thomas and the Sailfish Splash Waterpart team in Florida.

Next month she will participate in the Ivy League championships. In March, she qualified for NCAA championships. 

Last week, Thomas was crushed twice in a women’s swim meet by another transgender competitor who is transitioning from female to male – first in the 100-yard freestyle, where she placed fifth, and then again in the 400-yard freestyle relay. 

Thomas was defeated by Yale swimmer Iszac “Izzi” Henig. However, Thomas has been advised to have his breasts removed.

Henig, who is transitioning from female to male, also finished first in the earlier 50-yard freestyle, smashing records. After the race, the 20-year-old, who has had his breasts removed, pulled down the top of his swimsuit. Parents at the swim meet said they were stunned as Henig won the women's race

Trangender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas was crushed in the 100-meter freestyle, finishing fifth - after being beaten by another transgender swimmer, Iszac Henig (left) who is transitioning from female to male. On Saturday, Henig also finished first in the earlier 50-yard freestyle, smashing records. After the race, the 20-year-old, who has had his breasts removed, pulled down the top of his swimsuit

Thomas, who is a transgender male swimmer, was recently defeated by Iszac Hennenig. Henig has not had his breasts removed but has continued to swim for Yale’s women’s swimming team.  

Thomas defeated Yale and Dartmouth Ivy League competitors. Thomas was just 2 seconds ahead of Yale. Thomas’s win came one month after breaking two women’s records by a narrow 38-second margin over Anna Kalandadze. By a narrow margin, she also won the 500-yard freestyle.  

UPenn’s swim meet on January 8 was the team’s first since last month, when Thomas blew away the competition and shattered two national women’s records at the Zippy International in Akron, Ohio. 

The NCAA has yet to comment on growing criticisms of its policy for transgender athletes. However, both UPenn as well the Ivy League have defended Thomas’s position and that of the NCAA in statements made in the recent weeks.

Lia Thomas, circled, is pictured in a post by UPenn Swimming and Diving, captioned: 'Ladies at the beach'

Lia Thomas is circled in a photo by UPenn Swimming and Diving captioned “Ladies at The Beach”

Fox News reported that the NCAA board of governors would review the policy in the coming weeks. 

Scientific community still debates the question of fairness.

Transgender athletes are still able to compete with biologically male competitors despite going through the typical phases of puberty for men.

One year of testosterone suppression therapy which is currently required by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) may not be enough to ensure fairness in the sport. 

Numerous studies in the recent past show that one year of testosterone suppressing therapy is not enough to ensure fairness in women’s sports. 

One study, by the Macdonald–Laurier Institute, a Canadian think tank, argued ‘there is neither a medical intervention nor a clever philosophical argument that can make it fair for trans women to compete in women’s sport. 

According to the researchers, trans women can suppress testosterone for up to 12 months. The extent of muscle/strength losses is approximately (and moderately) less than -5% over the same period. 

The athletic advantage gained under high levels of testosterone at puberty does not disappear, but the male muscle skeletal advantage remains. 

Thomas has smashed several Penn records this season with one teammate finishing in second place in the 1,650-meter freestyle some 38 second behind her

 Thomas has smashed several Penn records this season with one teammate finishing in second place in the 1,650-meter freestyle some 38 second behind her

The study suggests that some form of fairness could be achieved with a ‘reconceptualization’ of the male category as ‘open’ if competing in the women’s category as ‘Female,’ where female specifically refers to the sex recorded at birth.

The view is echoed by Joanna Harper, a transgender competitive runner and medical physicist at Loughborough University in the UK.

“There is no doubt that transgender women have strength advantages over non-transgender or cisgender females, even after testosterone suppression.

WebMD was told by her that while it is based more on clinical experience than published data, “I would state there is zero doubt in mine mind.”

“It’s likely that trans women who have received hormone therapy experience the most significant changes in their strength within the first twelve months. However, there is not enough information to prove this. There is a possibility that strength declines further after 36 months. A small Brazilian study suggests that this strength advantage may disappear completely. They only compared grip strength of trans women to eight women with matched BMIs, and I believe the issue is still far from resolved.