Ex-ESPN personality Pablo Torre has been dominating the headlines this week for his comments about former NCAA swimmers Riley Gaines and Lia Thomas.
Thomas, the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA title, came in first place in the women’s 500-yard freestyle in 2022. All the success she had at the University of Pennsylvania sparked a debate about transgender inclusion in women’s sports. Well, the Ivy League school decided this July that all of Thomas’ Division I records and titles will be restored to female athletes.
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“While Penn’s policies during the 2021-2022 swim season were in accordance with NCAA eligibility rules at the time, we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules,” Penn President J. Larry Jameson said. “We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – MARCH 18: Lia Thomas looks on from the podium after finishing fifth in the 200 Yard Freestyle during the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship at the McAuley Aquatic Center on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology on March 18, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Gaines competed against Thomas back in the early 2020s. She has been adamant about keeping transgender athletes out of women’s sports. During his latest podcast episode, Torre revealed that Gaines’ swimming coach at the University of Kentucky was accused of sexual assault.
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Torre called out Gaines for this alleged double standard on social media.
“Context: Simone Biles got sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar. Riley Gaines now seems to get paid to accuse Lia Thomas of doing something similar…while ALSO never speaking aloud about her male coach/’best friend’ getting banned for life after multiple rape allegations at UK,” Torre wrote on X.
Torre continued, “Here’s what Riley’s former UK teammate and friend told us about their head coach, Lars Jorgensen: ‘It’s hard for me to care about Riley Gaines tying for 5th when my swim coach is accused of raping my teammates.'”
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UPenn swimmer fires back.
Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Paula Scanlan fired back at Torre this Thursday. She detailed her “traumatizing” experiences as Thomas’ teammate.
“Hey Pablo, I was sexually assaulted as a teenager and THEN I was forced to undress with Lia Thomas in a locker room 18 times per WEEK I was on the team,” Scanlan wrote. “He is a man. It was disgusting, violating and traumatizing. Is that enough for you to understand?”
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As of now, Torre hasn’t responded to Scanlan’s comments. He is, however, feuding with former Fox News personality Megyn Kelly.
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Nov 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the Trending section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
