UPenn Bans Trans Athletes After Feds Find Title IX Violations, Ending Lia Thomas Case
Male athletes will no longer be permitted to participate in women’s sports at the University of Pennsylvania.
Riley Gaines (right) and Lia Thomas (left)
Athletics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania University
President Donald Trump, US Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon, and the US Education Building in Washington, DC.
After federal investigators determined that the university had violated Title IX by allowing a male to participate in female athletic activities and use female-only intimate facilities, the US Department of Education stated on Tuesday, July 1, that the university (UPenn) had signed a Resolution Agreement.
The results came from a Title IX investigation that started after UPenn gave swimmer Lia Thomas a roster position on the women’s swim team, according to the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
Thomas, who played for UPenn in 2022 and became the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I championship, was the subject of a civil rights lawsuit against the university.
Paula Scanlan, a former teammate, later told Congress that she and other members of the squad were provided psychiatric therapy in an effort to re-educate us to feel at ease with the thought of taking off our clothes in front of a man.
“I am deeply grateful to the Trump Administration for refusing to back down on protecting women and girls and restoring our rightful accolades,” Scanlan said.
“I am also pleased that my alma mater has finally agreed to take not only the lawful path, but the honorable one.”
On April 28, OCR released its noncompliance finding, claiming that UPenn’s policies and practices prevented women from having equal access to facilities and athletic opportunities. Ten days were given to the university to address the infractions or risk being referred to the US Department of Justice.
After signing the contract, UPenn will now have to:
- Restore all individual records, titles, and recognitions to female athletes that were misappropriated;
- Publicly state it will comply with Title IX and ban males from women s teams and facilities;
- Adopt biology-based definitions for male and female per President Trump s executive orders;
- Post the statement prominently across UPenn s websites, including women s athletics pages;
- Rescind any past guidance that violated Title IX and issue apologies to impacted swimmers.
According to US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, today’s settlement deal with UPenn is just another illustration of the Trump effect in action. In addition to offering an apology for its previous Title IX violations, UPenn has committed to safeguarding women’s sports at the university for upcoming generations of female athletes.
Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who has been vocal about the matter, likewise applauded UPenn’s change of direction.
“This Administration does not just pay lip service to women s equality: it vigorously insists on that equality being upheld,” she said.
“I hope that today shows educational institutions that they will no longer be permitted to violate women’s civil rights and gives every female athlete faith that their nation’s top leadership will not give up until they receive the respect, safety, and equality they are entitled to.
