University of Pennsylvania bans transgender women from women's sports, Ends Lia Thomas case
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
The University of Pennsylvania has decided to renounce its decision, which allowed transgender women to compete in female-only sports under past National Collegiate Athletic Association rules. This comes as the university has agreed with the Trump administration's broader attempt to remove transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports.As a part of the agreement, Penn has said that it will erase any athletic records and titles they earned by them and will also update records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas . She became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division 1 championship in 2022 while competing on the UPenn women's swim team.Penn also apologized to female athletes "disadvantaged" by Thomas' participation on the women's swimming team, part of a resolution of a federal civil rights case.The accord announced on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, settles a U.S. Education Department investigation opened against the Ivy League school in late April 2025 under Title IX, the civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in education programs receiving federal funding.The probe stemmed from an uproar sparked three years ago when a transgender athlete, Thomas, last competed for the Ivy League school in Philadelphia in 2022 and won a Division I title.The outcome did not go down well with several fans and athletes who questioned the equity of opening all-women's sports to contestants who self-identify as female contrary to their assigned male birth gender. Critics see transgender women as tending to possess more masculine physicality regardless of identity or presentation, giving them an unfair edge in size and strength on the field.Some women athletes also have balked at having to share locker room and shower facilities with transgender teammates. In a statement on behalf of the university, UPenn President J. Larry Jameson said his school does not set its transgender sports policies but follows applicable Title IX and U.S.-wide intercollegiate rules, including those in effect during the 2021-2022 swim season when Thomas competed.After assuming office following the victory in the US Presidential elections, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 banning transgender athletes from participating in all-female school sports.Jameson noted that the NCAA, the governing body for U.S. college-level athletics, has since altered its own rules to limit competition in female-only sports to individuals assigned the gender of female at birth and that UPenn already abides by those standards.Nevertheless, "we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged" by the previous rules, Jameson wrote. He added, "We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time."The university also will update women's swimming records set at UPenn three years ago to reflect "who would now hold the records under current eligibility guidelines," he said.Moreover, Jameson said UPenn would release a public statement reaffirming its commitment to current Title IX policies, including "definitions of sex—with respect to women's athletics—that have been set out through two specific (Trump) executive orders."The Education Department's announcement differed sharply in tone, referring to transgender women athletes as "male athletes allowed to compete in female athletic categories and occupy female-only intimate facilities." It also described Trump's executive orders as "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism" and "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports."No mention was made of the $175 million in federal funding the administration suspended from UPenn in March over the issue of transgender competition in student sports. Trump has threatened to withhold federal dollars from educational institutions over a range of issues, from pro-Palestinian protests to affirmative action. The debate over transgender women in sports has resonated as a question of basic fair play across the political divide.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
17 minutes ago
- Time of India
Monsoon Session of Parliament to run from July 21 to August 21
(You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Monsoon Session of Parliament will be convened from July 21 to August 21, 2025. According to an official notification, there will be no sittings on August 13 and 14 in view of Independence Day celebrations
NDTV
24 minutes ago
- NDTV
Trump Vows To 'Make NYC Great Again', Calls Mamdani "Communist Lunatic"
US President Donald Trump said that he will save the New York City from "Communist lunatic" Indian-origin mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. In a post on Truth Social he wrote, "As President of the United States, I'm not going to let this Communist Lunatic destroy New York. Rest assured, I hold all the levers, and have all the cards. I'll save New York City, and make it "Hot" and "Great" again, just like I did with the Good Ol' USA!" This comes in the backdrop of Mamdani refusing to be "intimidated" by Trump, after the Republican said his administration would have the Democrat arrested if he stops Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from doing its work in America's most populous city. Mamdani said, "The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported. Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorise our city." "His statements don't just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadow: if you speak up, they will come for you," he added. On Tuesday, Trump had said that the New York City Democratic nominee for mayor is a "pure, true communist" and a "total nut job" and added that he will "have a lot of fun with him" if he is elected. Mamdani became the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City on Tuesday and will face the general election in November. Born in Uganda to South Asian parents, he would be the first Muslim mayor of the heavily Democratic city if he wins the general election in November. Several Republicans are pushing for the cancellation of Mamdani's citizenship, as he became a US citizen only in 2018.
NDTV
24 minutes ago
- NDTV
"Melania Needs To Go": Thousands Sign Deportation Petition Amid Crackdown
Amid mounting backlash over US President Donald Trump's reported plans to deport naturalized citizens, a viral petition on MoveOn, a progressive advocacy platform, called for the deportation of First Lady Melania Trump, her parents, and son Barron Trump--arguing that Trump's own family should not be exempted from the policies he championed. The petition stated, "Since Trump wants to deport naturalized citizens, I believe it is only fair that Melania and her parents are on the first boat out. In addition, Melania's anchor baby, Baron, should be forced to leave as well because we know that his mother's mother was born in a different country. That is part of the criteria that Trump is putting into place. Your mother's mother has to have been born in the United States and we know Melania's mother was born elsewhere. If it's good for one, it's good for all! There should be no exceptions! On the first boat or flight out!" The petition further argued that the move would prevent perceptions of favoritism, adding, "If this is truly about national security, then Melania needs to go!" The remarks reflected growing public frustration over what many viewed as double standards in Trump's deportation agenda. According to Fox News, the petition surfaced just days after Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters, during an anti-DOGE protest in Los Angeles on March 25, suggested that Trump should investigate and potentially deport Melania Trump. "When he [Trump] talks about birthright, and he's going to undo the fact that the Constitution allows those who are born here, even if the parents are undocumented, they have a right to stay in America. If he wants to start looking so closely to find those who were born here and their parents were undocumented, maybe he ought to first look at Melania," Waters was seen saying from the stage, various videos posted on social media showed, Fox News reported. She added, "We don't know whether or not her parents were documented. And maybe we better just take a look." According to Fox News, her remarks were met with loud cheers from protestors at the rally, which focused on opposing Trump's federal government downsizing agenda. Fox News also reported that Melania Trump, born in the former Yugoslavia, became a US citizen in 2006. She was the first US first lady to become a naturalized citizen and the second to be born outside the United States, after Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, wife of President John Quincy Adams. In 2018, The New York Times reported that Melania sponsored her parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, for green cards and later citizenship. Amalija Knavs passed away in 2024, while Viktor Knavs has been seen at recent public events with the Trump family. Waters' comments came in response to an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office that aimed to reinterpret the 14th Amendment and restrict birthright citizenship. The order, currently under judicial review, seeks to exclude individuals born to undocumented immigrants or parents on temporary visas from automatic US citizenship. During the March 25 protest, Waters joined hundreds marching to the VA hospital on Los Angeles' Wilshire Boulevard. She declared, "We are here because we are not going to let Trump, we're not going to let Elon Musk, his co-president, or anybody else take the United States Constitution down." Her remarks on Melania Trump quickly spread on social media platforms like TikTok and X, drawing sharp criticism from conservatives. "Maxine Waters wants to deport Melania," posted the popular X account End Wokeness, as cited by Fox News.
