Education Department Determines University of Pennsylvania Breached Title IX Regulations Regarding Transgender Swimmer
The Ivy League institution may face a loss of federal funding if a male athlete, who claimed the NCAA swimming title while competing as a female, does not give up his records.
The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) is currently in breach of Title IX regulations stemming from a transgender athlete’s victory in the 2022 NCAA women’s swimming championship for the university. They have 10 days to resolve this situation or it will be escalated to the Department of Justice, federal officials stated on April 28.
Jameson was informed that adhering to current NCAA guidelines and President Donald Trump’s executive order from February prohibiting males from participating in women’s sports is insufficient for compliance. Consequently, the federal government is demanding that UPenn vacate the athlete’s 2022 championship title and apologize to the female athletes impacted by this individual’s participation.
Additionally, the Ivy League university is expected to declare that all of its athletic programs align with Title IX requirements.
Title IX is a federal law enacted in 1972 that forbids educational institutions receiving federal funds from engaging in sex discrimination, thus ensuring fairness for NCAA women’s sports. The Biden administration amended the policy to permit transgender participation, a change that Trump reversed through his executive order.
UPenn is also required to restore titles, records, and honors that rightfully belong to female athletes, or provide equivalent recognition in Division I swimming competitions that were wrongfully attributed to male athletes competing in female categories.
Related Stories
Moreover, “the university must send an apology letter to each female athlete whose individual recognition is restored, expressing regret on behalf of the university for any sex discrimination impacting her educational experience,” as stated in the news release on April 28.
In 2022, transgender UPenn student Lia Thomas won a Division I NCAA women’s swimming championship in the 500-yard freestyle after previously competing on the men’s team from 2017 to 2020.
Riley Gaines, a former Kentucky women’s swimmer who raced against Thomas, and Paula Scanlan, a former teammate who shared a locker room with him, have been vocal opponents of transgender participation in women’s sports.
“Young girls who admire Riley Gaines and Paula Scanlan can take heart from today’s announcement; the Trump administration will protect female spaces from being invaded by male athletes or competing in female categories,” Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education, stated in the release.
“UPenn has a decision to make… to uphold the rights of its female students and achieve full compliance with Title IX immediately, or to continue pursuing a radical political agenda that breaches federal anti-discrimination law and jeopardizes UPenn’s federal funding.”
While the news release does not mention Thomas by name, it makes clear that the situation pertains to events linked to the NCAA Division I swimming championships.
The Trump administration has already suspended $175 million of UPenn’s federal funding due to issues relating to the transgender swimmer.
The Epoch Times has reached out to UPenn for a response.
In a statement on March 20, the university confirmed compliance with Trump’s executive orders prohibiting men from participating in women’s sports.
“Penn maintains full compliance with this recent change,” the statement asserted. “The university’s athletic programs have always operated within the guidelines set forth by the federal government, the NCAA, and our conference.”
The Department of Justice has recently announced plans to file a lawsuit against Maine for allowing transgender-identifying male athletes to compete on the state’s women’s teams.
