The Trump Administration has ordered the University of Pennsylvania to erase the records of transgender athletes after finding that the school supposedly violated Title IX by allowing a trans woman to compete on its women’s swimming team.
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights ruled Monday that the Philadelphia-based Ivy League university "denied women equal opportunities" by allowing trans athletes to compete in categories that align with their gender identity. It gave the college ten days to wipe out any records set by trans people, issue a formal apology, and agree to ban trans athletes going forward.
The decision did not mention Lia Thomas by name, but was undoubtedly in reference to the out trans swimmer, who competed on the women’s swimming team at UPenn. Thomas became the first known trans athlete to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I championship in 2022 when she won the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA women’s national competition. She has since graduated.
The DOE ordered the NCAA to strip awards and records from trans athletes in February, which it has not yet agreed to do. The association did comply with Trump's order restricting trans athletes' participation, despite President Charlie Baker stating in December that he was aware of "fewer than ten" trans athletes out of 500,000 who compete in the NCAA.
The Trump Administration paused $175 million in federal funds to the University of Pennsylvania in March while it investigated the supposed Title IX violations, citing the February executive order that threatened to withhold federal funding from K-12 schools and colleges that allow trans people to participate on teams aligning with their gender identity.
The university has maintained that it did not violate any state or federal laws, nor NCAA policy, which allowed trans athletes to participate until February. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that federal laws protecting against sex discrimination in employment, including Title VII, encompass gender identity. Trump's executive orders, which are being challenged in courts, are not law.
