Under a voluntary agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) agreed to ban transgender women from its women’s sports teams, resolving a federal investigation centered on former swimmer Lia Thomas, Newsweek reported.
The department stated that Penn violated Title IX by allowing Thomas, a trans woman, to compete in women’s events during the 2021–22 season.
As part of the deal, Penn will reinstate Division I swimming records and titles to athletes who lost to Thomas and will issue personalized apology letters to each of them, per the Department of Education. Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the outcome a “victory for women and girls.” Riley Gaines, an anti-trans activist who tied with Thomas in an NCAA event—said, “From day one, President Trump and Secretary McMahon made it clear that protecting women and girls is a top priority—and today’s agreement with UPenn is proof of that commitment in action.”
However, on Bluesky, transgender-rights activist Charlotte Clymer stated, “This is completely disgusting. UPenn was afraid of losing funding, and they’ve decided humiliating Lia Thomas is a worthy price to pay to save themselves. Lia Thomas did nothing wrong. She followed the rules and competed fairly and honorably. UPenn’s leadership are cowards.”
Thomas became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship. While at the school, she won the NCAA Division I title in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:33.24, becoming the first openly trans athlete to do so.