The Ivy League school could lose federal funding if a male athlete who won the NCAA swimming title as a female competitor doesn’t relinquish records.
The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) remains in violation of Title IX regulations lingering from a transgender athlete who won an NCAA women’s swimming title for the school in 2022, and will have 10 days to resolve the issue before the matter is referred to the Department of Justice, federal officials said on April 28.
Jameson was informed that complying with current NCAA regulations and President Donald Trump’s February executive order prohibiting males from competing in women’s sports is not enough to satisfy compliance requirements. As a punitive measure, the federal government is requiring UPenn to relinquish that athlete’s 2022 championship title and issue an apology to the female athletes he defeated.
The Ivy League school is also expected to issue a statement noting that all its athletic programs comply with Title IX.
Title IX is a federal regulation implemented in 1972 that prohibits educational institutions receiving federal funding from engaging in sex discrimination and assures fairness for NCAA women’s sports programs. President Joe Biden, whose administration preceded Trump’s current term, amended it to allow transgender participation in sports, and Trump reversed that under his executive order.
UPenn must also restore to female athletes their rightful records, titles, and honors, “or similar recognition for Division I swimming competitions misappropriated by male athletes competing in female categories.”
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In addition, “the university must send a letter to each female athlete whose individual recognition is restored, expressing an apology on behalf of the university for allowing her educational experience to be marred by sex discrimination,” the April 28 news release said.
In 2022, transgender UPenn student Lia Thomas won a Division I NCAA women’s swimming championship in the 500-yard freestyle event after competing on the men’s team from 2017–2020.
Riley Gaines, a former Kentucky women’s swimmer who competed against Thomas, and Paula Scanlan, a former teammate of Thomas who had to share a locker room with the male athlete identifying as transgender, have lobbied against transgender participation in women’s sports.
“Little girls who look up to Riley Gaines and Paula Scanlan can find hope in today’s action—the Trump administration will not allow male athletes to invade female private spaces or compete in female categories,” Craig Trainor, Department of Education acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in the news release.
“UPenn has a choice to … do the right thing for its female students and come into full compliance with Title IX immediately, or continue to advance an extremist political project that violates federal antidiscrimination law and puts UPenn’s federal funding at risk.”
The news release does not identify Thomas by name, but it does specify that these events are linked to the NCAA Division I swimming championships.
The Trump administration has already suspended $175 million of UPenn’s federal funding over issues related to the transgender swimmer.
The Epoch Times reached out to UPenn for comment.
“Penn is in full compliance with this most recent change,” the statement said. “The university’s athletic programs have always operated within the framework provided by the federal government, the NCAA, and our conference.”
The Department of Justice recently announced that it will file a lawsuit against Maine for allowing high school transgender-identifying male athletes to compete on the state’s women’s teams.
