Debunking the False Claim: Pam Bondi’s Alleged Legal Victory Over Lia Thomas

In June 2025, social media erupted with sensational claims that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had won a historic legal battle against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, purportedly banning her from Olympic competition forever and marking a landmark victory for women’s sports. Headlines screamed, “She Picked the Wrong Man to Fight,” portraying Bondi as a fierce defender of fairness who silenced critics with a groundbreaking ruling. The narrative, amplified by posts on X and dubious websites, suggested that Thomas faced the “heaviest penalty in sports history” for alleged cheating. However, these claims are entirely false, rooted in misinformation campaigns that exploit polarizing issues for clicks and clout. No such legal battle exists, and the story is a fabrication, as confirmed by reputable sources like Snopes and Media Bias/Fact Check.

The rumor began on June 12, 2025, when a Facebook page posted, “OH MY GOD! Pam Bondi has won her legal battle against Lia Thomas and will not have a chance to qualify for the Olympics, marking a huge victory for women’s sport.” The post, which garnered over 44,000 reactions, linked to a WordPress blog filled with advertisements, claiming Bondi’s lawsuit ensured Thomas’s permanent exclusion from women’s sports. The narrative painted a dramatic courtroom showdown, with Bondi representing female athletes and securing a ruling that set a precedent for “fairness and equality.” Supporters on X celebrated, with posts like, “Pam Bondi just saved women’s sports!” going viral, amassing millions of views.

Yet, a closer look reveals no evidence of any legal confrontation between Bondi and Thomas. Searches across major platforms—Bing, Google, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo—yielded no credible reports of such a case. Snopes, a trusted fact-checking outlet, confirmed on June 17, 2025, that “there is no legal battle between Pam Bondi and Lia Thomas—past or present.” Court records, public filings, and official statements from the Department of Justice show no trace of Bondi pursuing litigation against Thomas. The claim appears to have originated from a single, unverified blog post, likely designed to capitalize on the contentious debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports.

Pam Bondi, sworn in as the 87th U.S. Attorney General on February 5, 2025, has been a polarizing figure, known for her staunch support of President Donald Trump and her tenure as Florida’s first female Attorney General from 2011 to 2019. Her early actions in office, such as reviewing cases against Trump and establishing a “Weaponization Working Group” to investigate politicized justice, align with her conservative agenda but do not include any documented efforts targeting Thomas. Instead, the hoax seems to exploit Bondi’s high-profile role and her history of taking on controversial issues, like her 2018 lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, to lend credibility to the false narrative.

Lia Thomas, the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I title in 2022, has indeed been at the center of sports controversies. Her participation in women’s swimming at the University of Pennsylvania sparked debates about fairness, culminating in a 2022 World Aquatics ban on transgender women who transitioned after puberty from elite women’s events. Thomas challenged this rule at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2024 but lost, with the court ruling she lacked standing. This decision, which barred her from the 2024 Paris Olympics, was real but unrelated to Bondi or any U.S. legal action. The University of Pennsylvania also settled a federal civil rights case in July 2025, agreeing to ban transgender women from its women’s teams and revising records set by Thomas, following a Title IX investigation under the Trump administration. These developments, while significant, do not involve Bondi or a “historic resolution” against Thomas.

The hoax’s spread highlights the power of misinformation in a polarized climate. The claim that Bondi’s victory was a “milestone for women’s sports” resonated with those who oppose transgender participation in female categories, as evidenced by comments from figures like Riley Gaines, who praised related policy shifts. However, the lack of substantiation—coupled with the absence of any response from Thomas or her legal team—underscores the story’s falsehood. The blog post’s inflammatory language, calling Thomas’s participation “cheating,” mirrors rhetoric used in anti-transgender campaigns, further fueling division.

The fallout has been significant but short-lived. Fans of Bondi and critics of transgender athletes initially celebrated, but fact-checks quickly dampened the narrative. X posts questioning the story’s legitimacy, like “Didn’t anyone proofread this nonsense?” gained traction, reflecting growing skepticism. The incident mirrors other 2025 hoaxes, such as false claims about Jennifer Lawrence’s death or Dana Perino’s firing, showing a pattern of exploiting public figures for attention. For Thomas, the rumor adds to the scrutiny she has faced since 2022, when she told ESPN, “I transitioned to be true to myself, not to win.”

This fabricated story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unverified claims. While the debate over transgender athletes in sports remains complex, involving real policy changes like Trump’s February 2025 executive order banning transgender women from women’s sports, the Bondi-Thomas narrative is pure fiction. Bondi continues her work at the DOJ, focusing on issues like election integrity, while Thomas has shifted away from competitive swimming. The “historic resolution” that never was reminds us to question sensational headlines and seek truth in a world where misinformation can silence reason.