WASHINGTON (TND) — The most decorated Olympian of all time spoke on the controversy surrounding a transgender athlete's inclusion on a collegiate swimming team, calling the issue "very complicated".

When Michael Phelps was asked about the University of Pennsylvania's Lia Thomas, who previously competed on the men's team but now competes on the women's, he compared the discussion to the discussion around doping in sports.

I think this leads back to the organizing committees again," Phelps says during an appearance on CNN. "Because it has to be a level playing field. I think that's something that we all need. Because that’s what sports are and for me, I don’t know where this is going to go. I don’t know what’s going to happen.

Thomas has been the center of controversy and debate after she dominated in several meets, qualifying for the 2022 NCCA Championships and sparking heated discussion about the fairness of including transgender athletes in women's sports.

Parents of collegiate swimmers have been calling on the NCAA to change its rules in regards to transgender swimmers. A group of parents of UPenn swimmers asked the NCAA to ban Thomas from women's competitions, saying her inclusion sets a "precedent" which "is a direct threat to female athletes in every sport."

Thomas also faces criticism nationally, and her competing in collegiate women's swimming has become a nationwide controversy.

An editorial written by the New York Post titled "Dominating in women’s sports as a trans athlete is fundamentally selfish" focuses on Thomas, saying she's "not a hero."

"Most of the women are too afraid to speak out against this. But they must." said American journalist and political commentator Megyn Kelly in a tweet featuring an article concerning Thomas.

A veteran USA swimming official resigned in protest of Thomas' inclusion in the sport, saying Thomas is negatively impacting women's swimming and her competing in meets is unfair.

However, having taken testosterone suppression treatment for at least a year before competing on the women's team, Thomas is in compliance with the NCAA's transgender athlete policy. Also, despite all the backlash, UPenn and the Ivy League stand behind Thomas competing as a woman.

In a statement, UPenn says it is committed to being "welcoming" and "inclusive" for all its student-athletes. Joining the university in support of Thomas, the Ivy League says in its own statement it "welcomes" Thomas' inclusion in women's swimming and "looks forward to celebrate the success of all of our student-athletes throughout the season."

The Ivy League echoed UPenn's commitment to being welcoming and inclusive, but added it seeks to condemn "transphobia" and "discrimination."

Phelps seemingly joins in on the criticism of including transgender athletes in women's sports, specifically on the issue of fairness.

I don't know what it looks like in the future. But it's hard. It's very complicated and this is my sport, this has been my sport my whole entire career, and honestly, the one thing I would love is everybody being able to compete on an even playing field," Phelps says in his CNN interview.

Thomas will be competing in the 2022 NCAA National Championship after qualifying in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time that set a new program, meet, and pool record and also beat her teammate, who placed second in the event, by 38 seconds.

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