Trump cuts funds to university over transgender athlete

The Trump administration on Wednesday said it would pause $175 million in funding for the University of Pennsylvania over the institution’s policy to allow men to compete in women’s sports. The school said in a statement it was monitoring policies that affect higher education institutions. The school allowed a male swimmer known as Lia Thomas to compete on its team in the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women’s Championships, officials said. Lia, formerly known as William, won the 500-yard freestyle and tied with Riley Gaines for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle final. President Donald Trump on Feb. 5 signed an executive order aimed at protecting women’s sports and the NCAA one day later changed its policy to allow only female athletes to compete in women’s sports.

What else is being done to protect women’s sports? The U.S. Department of Education in early February launched an investigation into the University of Pennsylvania, San Jose State University, and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association over their transgender athlete policies. That investigation is not related to the funding cut announced this week.

Meanwhile, a group of female swimmers last month filed a federal lawsuit in Massachusetts against the NCAA, the Ivy League Conference, and Harvard University over their decision to allow Thomas to compete. More than a dozen college athletes last March filed a lawsuit in federal court in Atlanta saying the NCAA violated women’s equal protections.

Dig deeper: Listen to Lindsay Mast’s report on The World and Everything in It about how a former All-American tennis player is fighting to protect women’s sports.