Transgender swimming champion Lia Thomas will be stripped of past University of Pennsylvania Division I swimming titles after the Trump administration put pressure on the school to award the titles to competitors who were born female.
The university will also issue formal apologies to every biological female competitor who lost out to a biological male, following an investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which found UPenn violated Title IX by “allowing a male to compete in female athletic programs and occupy female-only intimate facilities.”
“Today’s resolution agreement with UPenn is yet another example of the Trump effect in action. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the University for future generations of female athletes,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement.
The resolution agreement signed by the university will require it to undertake a host of additional actions, including adopting “biology-based definitions for ‘male’ and ‘female’ under Title IX” and issuing a public statement that it will no longer allow biological men to compete in female athletic programs or occupy women-only locker rooms.
The decision was cheered by athletes who were affected by the inclusion of trans athletes in women’s sports in recent years.
“As a former UPenn swimmer who had to compete against and share a locker room with a male athlete, I am deeply grateful to the Trump Administration for refusing to back down on protecting women and girls and restoring our rightful accolades. I am also pleased that my alma mater has finally agreed to take not only the lawful path, but the honorable one,” said Paula Scanlan, a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer.
Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who has been outspoken on the issue, said, “It is my hope that today demonstrates to educational institutions that they will no longer be allowed to trample upon women’s civil rights, and renews hope in every female athlete that their country’s highest leadership will not relent until they have the dignity, safety, and fairness they deserve.”
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