(7-3-25) Slowly changes are coming to the transgender battle of allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports.

This week the US Department of Education announced an agreement with the University of Penn on the transgender issue.

Lia/Will Thomas

One of those items was to strip Lia (Will) Thomas of wins and records during time on the women’s team.

UPenn will restore to female athletes all individual UPenn Division I swimming records, titles, or similar recognitions which were misappropriated by male athletes allowed to compete in female categories;

U.S. Department of Education Announces the University of Pennsylvania Has Entered into a Resolution Agreement to Resolve its Title IX Violations

July 1, 2025

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) has entered into a Resolution Agreement to comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX). This action follows the Department’s Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR’s) investigation that found UPenn violated Title IX by allowing a male to compete in female athletic programs and occupy female-only intimate facilities. 

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon

“Today’s resolution agreement with UPenn is yet another example of the Trump effect in action. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the University for future generations of female athletes. Today is a great victory for women and girls not only at the University of Pennsylvania, but all across our nation. 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.” 

Paula Scanlan, former University of Pennsylvania swimmer

“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 honorable one. Today marks a momentous step in repairing the past mistreatment of female athletes, and forging a future where sex discrimination plays no role in limiting girls’ potential.” 

Riley Gaines, former University of Kentucky swimmer

“From day one, President Trump and Secretary McMahon vowed to protect women and girls, and today’s agreement with UPenn is a historic display of that promise being fulfilled. This Administration does not just pay lip service to women’s equality: it vigorously insists on that equality being upheld. 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.” 

UPenn has signed OCR’s Resolution Agreement to resolve its Title IX violations, which requires UPenn to undertake the following action items: 

  • UPenn will restore to female athletes all individual UPenn Division I swimming records, titles, or similar recognitions which were misappropriated by male athletes allowed to compete in female categories; 
  • UPenn will issue a public statement to the University community stating that it will comply with Title IX, specifying that UPenn will not allow males to compete in female athletic programs or occupy Penn Athletics female intimate facilities; 
  • The statement will specify that UPenn will adopt biology-based definitions for the words ‘male’ and ‘female’ pursuant to Title IX and consistent with President Trump’s Executive Orders “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism” and “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”; 
  • UPenn will post the statement in a prominent location on its main website and on each of its websites for women’s athletics; 
  • UPenn will rescind any guidance which violated Title IX, remove or revise any internal and public-facing statements or documents that are inconsistent with Title IX, and notify all staff and women’s athletics of all such rescissions; and 
  • UPenn will send a personalized letter of apology to each impacted female swimmer. 

Background:

On February 6, the Trump Administration’s OCR opened a Title IX investigation into UPenn after the University awarded Lia Thomas, a male swimmer, a roster spot on the Women’s Swimming and Diving Team. One of Thomas’ former teammates, Paula Scanlan, testified

before Congress that she and her teammates were “offered psychological services to attempt to re-educate us to become comfortable with the idea of undressing in front of a male.” 

On April 28, OCR concluded in its investigation that UPenn violated Title IX. OCR issued a proposed Resolution Agreement to voluntarily resolve its Title IX violations or risk referral to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for enforcement proceedings, which UPenn signed today. 

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.    

Secretary McMahon Remarks on UPenn Resolution Agreement

July 1, 2025

Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for joining us today for this major announcement—a turning point in our fight to defend women’s sports from radical gender ideology.

The women joining us today, including Paula Scanlan and Riley Gaines, have been incredible voices—working so hard on behalf of the female athletes who will come after them.

So it’s appropriate that today’s announcement is a Resolution Agreement on Title IX and women’s rights with the University of Pennsylvania, where Paula and Riley’s fight began.

President Trump has shown leadership on this issue from Day One. He declared “No Men in Women’s Sports” as an early Administration priority.

Now UPenn, one of the most well-known offenders of Title IX, has agreed to change its athletics policy to ensure that no female athlete will ever compete against, or suffer the indignity of being forced to share an intimate facility with, a biological male. 

Not only that – the university will be sending a personal apology to every female athlete who was forced to compete against a man. They will also be removing all records set by a man in a women’s sports competition.

This is a major accomplishment and a milestone in our fight to restore sanity, fairness, and integrity to women’s sports.

The idea of keeping men out of women’s sports is a simple one. It’s based in common sense. But the fight to achieve this victory has not been easy or simple.

The day after President Trump signed his historic Executive Order, my Department launched a civil rights investigation into UPenn, and ultimately found it in violation of federal law. 

We were clear in telling UPenn that allowing men to claim they are women, so they can invade women’s locker rooms and compete against them in sports, was neither fair nor safe.

We told them that institutions that violate federal civil rights law could lose their federal funding. We went a step further and froze over a hundred million dollars in federal grants to show just how seriously this Administration takes Title IX enforcement.

So UPenn came back to the table and asked us what they can do to make it right.

We said, “You have to completely rewrite your institutional policy.”

They signed on the dotted line.

We said, “You have to take these steps with records and reporting so this never happens again.”

They signed on the dotted line.

We said “you owe Paula, Riley, and the other female athletes you’ve wronged a formal written apology. On Penn letterhead. In 10 business days.”

Even that provision made it into the agreement.

And, to Penn’s credit, despite the screeching of radical gende rideologues, it recognized the harm caused to these excellent female athletes and now seeks to make amends.

For the awareness of others, let me be clear: Putting men in women’s intimate spaces is not safe or reasonable. Putting them up against women in physical competition against women is not fair.

America knows it’s not fair. Even Gavin Newsom, who has held himself out as the champion of the radical gender ideology movement, knows it’s not fair. But gender ideology and its extremist supporters have intimidated many people—who know better—into silence about that biological fact.

Today, we’re grateful that it did not keep Riley quiet. It did not keep Paula quiet. It did not keep parents or students across the country quiet. And it did not keep Donald Trump quiet.

We applaud UPenn’s decision, and we advise every institution that is currently violating women’s rights under Title IX to follow suit—not just in college sports, but in K-12 and every other institution covered by Title IX.

Because not only is the law clear, but so is common sense. We all want what’s safe and fair for our women and girls. And this Administration will do whatever it takes to fight for them.

Thank you. 

The issue has also surfaced numerous times in high school sports in the US…Illinois, Minnesota, Maine and California are states who are steadfast in allowing biological males to compete in girls athletics.

The UPenn ruling should encourage other universities and state athletic associations to act on the issue to avoid future legal expanses and lawsuits.