Donald Trump news: Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to be stripped of titles after UPenn backs down
Lia Thomas became the face of the transgender sporting battleground in the US, after the University of Pennsylvania permitted her to compete against female athletes in NCAA swimming events in 2022, where she won a Division I title.
Civil rights activists, athletes and rival sporting programs have been protesting Thomas's inclusion in the female categories for several years after she originally competed as a male at the college level.
US President Donald Trump's message has been clear to schools and sporting organisations that receive funding from the US Government: that transgender athletes must not compete in female sporting events if they wish to continue to receive millions of dollars in grants.
Following an investigation into potential Title IX violations, the university was found to have breached the guidelines by 'allowing a male to compete in female athletic programs and occupy female-only intimate facilities'.
Title IX is a civil rights law introduced in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education or athletic setting.
UPenn have now agreed to a total reversal of their stance and under the agreement announced on Tuesday, they will restore all individual Division I swimming records and titles to female athletes who lost out to Thomas, who also won several other swim meet events at college-level competitions, where her name will now be removed from the history books.
The record times she set in the 400m freestyle and 200m freestyle will also no longer be recognised.
The much-maligned school has also agreed to send an apology letter to every one of the swimmers who lost out to Thomas during those events.
The US Education Department is celebrating the victory and has added strict guidelines to the terms, including that no males are allowed to compete in female athletic programs and 'biology-based' definitions of male and female.
'The Department commends UPenn for rectifying its past harms against women and girls, and we will continue to fight relentlessly to restore Title IX's proper application and enforce it to the fullest extent of the law,' said Education Secretary Linda McMahon in a statement released after the decision.
'Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologise for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women's sports are protected at the University for future generations of female athletes.'
In February, the Education Department asked the NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations, or NFSHSA, to restore titles, awards and records it says have been 'misappropriated by biological males competing in female categories.'
'As a former UPenn swimmer who had to compete against and share a locker room with a male athlete, I am deeply grateful to the Trump Administration for refusing to back down on protecting women and girls and restoring our rightful accolades. I am also pleased that my alma mater has finally agreed to take not only the lawful path, but the honourable one,' said Paula Scanlan, a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer in the
New York Post
.
Other prominent athletes have spoken out about their anger at what many describe as a dark time for women's rights.
Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who has been outspoken on the issue, said, 'It is my hope that today demonstrates to educational institutions that they will no longer be allowed to trample upon women's civil rights, and renews hope in every female athlete that their country's highest leadership will not relent until they have the dignity, safety, and fairness they deserve.'
'We are putting every school receiving taxpayer dollars on notice that if you let men take over women's sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding. There will be no federal funding.'
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