UPenn to apologize to females disadvantaged by trans swimmer

The University of Pennsylvania and the Department of Education on Tuesday announced they had resolved their differences with a policy change that will protect women’s sports. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon hailed the agreement as a turning point in the defense of women’s sports from radical gender ideology. McMahon’s speech Tuesday was attended by Riley Gaines, one of the swimmers who competed with a male Penn swimmer known as Lia Thomas. Gaines has since become a fierce and vocal advocate for protecting women’s athletics from male competitors.

Penn acknowledged that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by Penn policies, which followed NCAA rules during the 2021-2022 swim season, according to a letter by university president J. Larry Jameson. Penn will apologize to the women placed at a competitive disadvantage or who were made anxious by the policies at the time, he said. It will also review and update the Penn women’s swimming records set during that season. Jameson added that Penn has never had rules separate from the NCAA or the Ivy League about the participation of transgender athletes.

How did we get here? President Donald Trump in February signed executive orders revoking the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX, the landmark women’s rights law, and the NCAA the next day changed its policy to allow only female athletes to compete in women’s sports. The Trump administration also urged universities to restore female athletic records broken by men.

In March, the Trump administration threatened to cut funds to The University of Pennsylvania over what it said was the university's policies for female athletes. Penn had a high-profile case in which Lia Thomas competed on its team in the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women’s Championships. Lia, formerly known as William, won the 500-yard freestyle and tied with Riley Gaines for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle final.