The Trump administration announced that the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) violated Title IX by allowing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete on the women’s team and access women-only facilities. While the administration did not explicitly mention Thomas, she became a focal point in discussions surrounding transgender athletes after winning a Division I title in 2022. The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation in February, asserting that Penn’s actions denied women equal opportunities.
The Education Department contends that allowing male athletes to compete on women’s teams constitutes sex discrimination. Penn has previously stated that it adhered to NCAA and Ivy League regulations regarding participation. The department has given Penn ten days to address the identified violations voluntarily or risk prosecution. Proposed resolutions include an acknowledgment of Title IX compliance, potential stripping of Thomas’s swim records, and apologies to affected female swimmers for any perceived discrimination.
Following the controversy, the Trump administration suspended roughly $175 million in federal funding to Penn, asserting that its policies concerning Thomas were discriminatory. In 2022, the NCAA had allowed transgender athletes to compete based on guidelines that considered hormone therapy, but this policy changed following an executive order from Trump, instituting stricter rules that only permit athletes assigned female at birth to compete in women’s sports.
The Education Department has extended its investigations to various educational institutions and has initiated legal action against Maine, compelling it to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports or face legal repercussions. This reflects a growing push by the Trump administration and allied entities to regulate transgender participation in athletics.
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