LAFC speaks at ceremony honoring Leah Thomas with the Inspiration Award
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Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Football Club was one of two professional sports teams to sponsor Rainbow Lab’s Violet Visionary Awards on Thursday night.
The awards ceremony honored former UPenn swimmer Leah Thomas with the Voice of Inspiration Award, which is given to “an individual whose story and actions ignite hope and courage within the LGBTQ+ community.”
Thomas, a transgender woman, won a women’s national title in 2022, which became a catalyst in the national debate about transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports.
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University of Pennsylvania swimmer Leah Thomas accepts the winning trophy in the 500 freestyle finals during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17, 2022, at the Macauley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Ikon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Thomas spoke at the event, which was also sponsored by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Neither the Dodgers nor LAFC responded to emails from Fox News Digital regarding their thoughts on Thomas receiving the award.
However, a spokesperson for the football club spoke at the event, which OutKick attended, where Daisy Chavez showed her support for the LGBTQ community.
“We are a community of queer fans, local leaders, supporters and activists of Los Angeles FC. And if you don’t know, we follow sports because we’ve always been here.” Chavez said. “We were athletes, we were cheerleaders, we were sports fans.
Thomas, 26, received the “Voice of Inspiration Award” at the 2025 Violet Visionary Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday night. (Alejandro Avila/OutKick)
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“So our presence in this club reminds not only the club and the community, but the world that we’ve always been here. And so we’re cheering, full of joy and love for our local community, but we’re also representing our gay community, and we’re very proud to be there every step of the way.”
Riley Gaines, who competed against Thomas and tied with the former UPenn swimmer for the national championship, was not happy that Thomas was given the award.
“The voice of inspiration? The only people Will Thomas inspires are other men who realize that you can take everything from women — our records, our spaces, our opportunities — and still get a standing ovation,” Gaines Tell OutKick, Using Thomas’s birth name. “It’s 2025, not 2020. We’re done pretending that this is courage.”
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Leah Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing fifth in the 200 freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18, 2022, at the Macauley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Ikon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Twenty-nine states have regulations regarding transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning trans athletes from competing against females in February.
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