The University of Michigan has previously named Paans as “player of the week,” noting that he has also become a state chess champion in the women’s category.

Paans also competed on the University of Michigan team in 2023, during which time they won the national women’s title against the University of California-Santa Barbara. In the same competition, Paans was noted to have scored goals in a 17 to 5 defeat against the University of Virginia, and in a 17 to 6 defeat against the University of Washington.

Paans has also involved himself in other women’s spaces. He also volunteers as a counselor for a “hotline specialized in topics relating to female health and pregnancy.”

While it is unclear when Paans began to identify as a “woman,” a 2013 Facebook post reveals that friends still referred to him by his birth name while congratulating him for beginning his secondary education in his home nation of the Netherlands. Paans appears to have immigrated from Europe to California in 2017 when he began an internship for Volo San Diego — a social sports club — and has remained in the country for education ever since. In 2023, he began a social work degree at the University of Michigan.

Jennifer, the mother of another NCAA female water polo athlete who competed with Paans in 2023, said it was “obvious” that he was a male, noting that she “observed Alicia quite a bit over the tournament, partly out of concern for the women and also wondering how his teammates acted around him.”

The NCAA has been roundly criticized for its policies that force female athletes to compete against men.

In January 2024, the CWPA released its transgender athlete policy, which states transgender women can participate in women’s categories.

"Transgender athletes who identify as female are eligible to compete in both the Co-ed League and the Women’s League," the policy reads, while also needing a "letter of confirmation" to confirm gender identity as well as proof of testosterone levels below 10 nmol/L within 60 days of

This is part of a broader battle over transgender athletes and forcing men into women’s spaces. Another flashpoint in this debate is the Biden administration’s decision to revamp Title IX rules to redefine women. The new rules include biological males experiencing gender dysphoria in protections for females on college campuses.

The White House’s move has already prompted legal action, with various states and organizations filing lawsuits aimed at overturning the rules. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Rapides Parish School Board in Louisiana. The group argues that the reimagining of Title IX “turns back the clock on equal opportunity for women, undermines fairness, and threatens every student’s safety and privacy.”

Additionally, states like Oklahoma and Florida have declared that they would refuse to go along with the Biden administration’s new guidelines. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stated:

“We are not going to let Joe Biden try to inject men into women’s activities. We are not going to let Joe Biden undermine the rights of parents, and we are not going to let Joe Biden abuse his constitutional authority to try to impose these policies on us here in Florida.”

As Alicia Paans prepares to take the dive into this weekend’s match, the world will have yet another example of the unfairness of making female athletes compete against men.