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Major League Soccer The Los Angeles Football Club was one of two professional sports teams to sponsor Rainbow Lab's Violet Visionary Awards on Thursday night.
At the awards ceremony, former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Leah Thomas received the award. Voice of Inspiration Awardwhich is awarded to “an individual whose story and actions ignite hope and courage in the LGBTQ+ community.”
Thomas, a transgender woman, won the women's national title in 2022, catalyzing a national debate over transgender athletes in women's and women's sports.
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Penn State swimmer Leah Thomas accepts the winning trophy during the 500m freestyle final at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17, 2022 at the Macauley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. (RICH von Bieberstein/ICON SportsWire via Getty Images)
Thomas gave a speech at the event, which Los Angeles Dodgers also sponsored. Neither the Dodgers nor LAFC responded to emails from Fox News Digital regarding their thoughts on Thomas receiving the award.
However, the event, which OutKick attended, did feature a speech from the football club as Daisy Chavez showed support for the LGBT community.
“We are a community of queer fans, local leaders, supporters and activists for 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 fans, 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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“And so our presence in this club reminds not only the club, the community, but the world that we have always been here. And so we rejoice, full of joy and love for our local community, but we also represent our queer people and we are so proud to be there every step of the way.”
Riley Gaines, who competed against Thomas and tied the former Penn State swimmer at the national meet, was unhappy with Thomas receiving the award.
“Voice of inspiration? The only people who are inspired by Will Thomas are other men who have realized that you can take everything from women – our records, our space, our opportunities – and still get a standing ovation.” – Gaines told OutKick, using the birth name of Thomas. “It’s 2025, not 2020. We're done pretending it's courage.”
Penn State swimmer Leah Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing fifth in the 200 freestyle final at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. (RICH von Bieberstein/ICON SportsWire via Getty Images)
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Twenty-nine states have regulations regarding trans athletes in girls' and women's sports. President Donald Trump signed a decree banning trans athletes from competing against women in February.
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