Lia Thomas, the biological male swimmer who has paraded around as a “woman” and stolen numerous titles and awards from his female counterparts, is “unrepentant,” Breitbart News reported.

When the former University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) swimmer entered the scene in 2021, he sent shock waves throughout the sphere of women’s sports. Prior to his arrival, so-called transgender-identifying athletes really hadn’t caused much of a ruckus yet. Arguably, Thomas, in many ways, marked the beginning of a massive culture war we still find ourselves in today. Because, apparently, not wanting men dominating women’s and girls’ sports is a controversial opinion. But I digress.

Thomas’s impact was nothing short of catastrophic for female athletes. He claimed titles that rightfully belonged to women, shattered records due to his physiological advantages, and created an atmosphere of discomfort in locker rooms, where women were forced to share intimate spaces with a biological male. Those who dared to object were silenced, coerced into compliance under the threat of public condemnation. In a stunning display of institutional complicity, UPenn nominated Thomas for the “Woman of the Year” award in 2022. And then came those who followed in the footsteps of the 6’1” man.

Nowadays, it’s not so rare — nor so shocking — to hear of the latest stories of female athletes forced to compete against — or courageously refusing to face — biological males identifying as women. We can be grateful for an administration that has confronted this radical ideology, and for the growing chorus of voices unafraid to call out this madness. Yet, beneath the surface lies a deeper, more urgent question: what lies at the heart of this cultural phenomenon?

As mentioned, Breitbart highlighted a recent interview Thomas did with the Pennsylvania Public Radio station WHYY. According to the outlet, he is “unrepentant” of the path of destruction still smoking behind him. But let’s see what he had to say first.

“With everything that happened my senior year and has happened since, it’s very easy to slip into almost like a negative perception of swimming,” he shared with WHYY, “where swimming and being in the water just brings up all that pain and all those feelings of grief all over again and very fresh. It takes a lot of effort to try to focus on the joy that swimming still brings me.”

Thomas revealed that coming out as trans to his parents caused him “a lot of harm,” though he now claims they are his “biggest supporters.” Alarmingly, he directed his message to children, urging them to embrace their own gender confusion. “There’s just no substitute to living and being your authentic self,” he declared. “But it unfortunately takes courage because of the many difficulties that there are surrounding being openly trans, especially being an openly trans athlete. But it’s absolutely worth it, and I know you can do it.” WHYY’s footnote that Thomas has been “long misunderstood” rings hollow when his own words lay bare his stance: “It’s easier to fight the whole world than to fight yourself every day. Because when I look back on my journey, on all the difficulties, all the highs and lows, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.”

Do you notice the pattern throughout Thomas’s remarks? An unrelenting focus on self. His narrative dismisses the women he displaced, the integrity of competition he undermined, and the children he misleads with promises of “authenticity.” Like so many in our fallen world, Thomas is ensnared in a prison of self-obsession, where his feelings, desires, and perceived reality trump the chaos and rebellion they unleash. This is not merely a personal failing — it points to a profound spiritual truth: Thomas remains “unrepentant” because he is still shrouded in darkness.

Scripture paints a vivid picture of our life apart from Christ: “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:1-3). In our flesh, we do not desire the things of God. For those still walking in darkness, 2 Corinthians 4:4 further details, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Even if Thomas expressed remorse, 2 Corinthians 7:10 puts forth a stark contrast: “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” Without the gospel, Thomas has no reason to repent or seek correction — his worldview is anchored in the deception of this world. The unregenerate are not merely blind but bound, tangled in the chains of sin as they’re allured down the wide path of destruction, often oblivious to their perilous state. This is the condition of all who remain apart from Christ. Yet, this darkness does not have the final word.

The gospel message offers a profound hope and transformation that pierces through such blindness and self-deception. As Ephesians 2 continues in verses 4-5, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved.” This is the heart of the gospel: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into our broken world, lived a sinless life, died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and rose again, conquering death and offering forgiveness to all who repent and believe in Him.

True freedom is not found in chasing self-defined identity or battling the world in our own strength. It’s found in surrendering to the only One who can redeem our identities, heal our wounds, and align our lives with eternal truth. For Lia Thomas, for the athletes affected, and for each of us entangled in the passions of the flesh, the call stands firm: turn from the darkness, embrace the light of Christ, and find true freedom not in self-authenticity, but in the grace that makes us new creations. This is the ultimate tie that binds our cultural battles to something far greater — a call to repentance, faith, and restoration which comes exclusively through the gospel of Jesus Christ.