UPenn to Prohibit Trans Athletes, Federal Officials Announce, Concluding Case Involving Swimmer Lia Thomas

The University of Pennsylvania has agreed to ban transgender women from competing on its women’s sports teams to settle a federal civil rights case that revealed the school violated the rights of female athletes. The U.S. Education Department announced this voluntary agreement on Tuesday, as the case centered around Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer who made headlines in 2022 by becoming the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I title while competing for the university.

This decision is part of a broader initiative from the Trump administration aimed at excluding transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports. As part of the agreement, the University of Pennsylvania has committed to restoring all individual Division I swimming records and titles to female athletes who lost to Thomas, according to the Education Department.

Additionally, the university will send personalized apology letters to those affected swimmers. The implications for Thomas regarding her awards and honors at Penn remain unclear.

The university is also required to announce that it will no longer permit males to compete in female athletic programs and must adopt “biology-based” definitions for male and female categories, as mandated by the department. Education Secretary Linda McMahon expressed satisfaction with this outcome, describing it as a victory for women and girls.

In a statement, she commended the University of Pennsylvania for addressing the harm caused to female athletes and reaffirmed the department’s commitment to enforcing Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in education. The Education Department began its investigation in February and concluded in April that Penn had violated Title IX.

Historically, such cases are resolved through voluntary agreements. Had Penn chosen to contest the findings, the department faced the option to refer the case to the Justice Department or consider cutting the school’s federal funding.

In February, the Education Department had also appealed to the NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations to restore titles and records it claims were “misappropriated by biological males.”