The university where Lia Thomas was part of the women’s swimming team has been threatened with a cut in funding unless her records are erased.
Thomas, who last year lost her bid to overturn World Aquatics restrictions on transgender athletes, made history in 2022 as the first trans woman to win the top national college swimming championship.
Her win was marred by right-wing pundits, including Riley Gaines and Caitlyn Jenner, who used her success as proof that women’s sports had to be “protected”. The backlash continued when Thomas was nominated for a woman of the year award after breaking two swimming records.
In line with president Donald Trump’s crackdown on inclusivity, the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights ruled on Monday (28 April) that the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) violated Title IX guarantees against sex discrimination when it allowed Thomas to compete on the women’s team.
Although Thomas was not specifically named, the ruling said the university had denied “women equal opportunities by permitting males to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities”, USA Today reported.
The government suspended $175 million (more than £130 million) in funding for UPenn last month.
The Department of Education has given the university 10 days to erase Thomas’ records and ordered a ban on trans athletes in women’s teams. In addition, UPenn has been told to write letters of apology to female athletes whose “educational experience in athletics (was) marred by sex discrimination”.
UPenn has said that it complied with all applicable Ivy League and National Collegiate Athletic Association rules regarding participation in women’s sports.
On 5 February, Trump issued executive order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”, which stipulated how Title IX – a landmark piece of civil rights legislation – should be used to exclude trans women. The directive said the funding would be suspended for institutions that allowed transgender girls or women to compete on teams that align with their gender.
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