\n<\/p>\n
The university plans to \u201capologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Photo illustration by Justin Morrison\/Inside Higher Ed | Kyle Mazza\/Anadolu\/Getty Images | Rich von Biberstein\/Icon Sportswire\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
The University of Pennsylvania will concede to the Trump administration\u2019s demands that the university \u201crestore\u201d swimming awards\u2014and send apology notes\u2014to female competitors who lost to a trans athlete, the Department of Education\u2019s Office for Civil Rights announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The department previously found that Penn violated Title\u00a0IX for allowing a trans woman to compete on a women\u2019s sports team\u2014presumably referring to Lia Thomas, who rose to national attention while competing on Penn\u2019s women\u2019s swim team three years ago.<\/p>\n
To end the investigation, the administration demanded in part that Penn apologize to cisgender women whose swimming awards and honors were \u201cmisappropriated\u201d to trans women athletes. Multiple Title\u00a0IX advocates lambasted the department\u2019s demands, arguing the agency was misusing the landmark gender-equity law to punish trans students and their institutions.<\/p>\n
Penn is one of multiple higher education institutions and K\u201312 schools that the administration has targeted for allowing trans women to play on women\u2019s sports teams, in accordance with NCAA policy at the time. But it appears to be the first institution of higher education to reach a resolution agreement over the issue since Trump took office. <\/p>\n
\u201cPenn remains committed to fostering a community that is welcoming, inclusive, and open to all students, faculty, and staff,\u201d Penn president J. Larry Jameson said in a statement Tuesday. \u201cI share this commitment, just as I remain dedicated to preserving and advancing the University\u2019s vital and enduring mission. We have now brought to a close an investigation that, if unresolved, could have had significant and lasting implications for the University of Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n
Separate from the department\u2019s investigation, the White House paused $175\u00a0million in funding to the university because Penn \u201cinfamously permitted a male to compete on its women\u2019s swimming team,\u201d an official said in March. It\u2019s not clear if the funding will be restored or when.<\/p>\n
Jameson stressed in the statement that the university was in compliance with Title\u00a0IX and all NCAA guidelines at the time that Thomas swam for Penn\u2019s women\u2019s team from 2021 to 2022. But, he said, \u201cwe acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Title\u00a0IX advocates have emphasized that trans athletes are not, in fact, explicitly forbidden from playing on women\u2019s sports teams under the current Title\u00a0IX regulations, which were finalized under the previous Trump administration and are the same ones that were in effect when Thomas was competing.<\/p>\n
In addition to stripping Thomas\u2019s awards, Penn agreed to ED\u2019s demands to make a public statement that people assigned male at birth are not allowed in Penn\u2019s women\u2019s athletic programs or its bathrooms and locker rooms, according to the department\u2019s news release. The institution must also promise to adopt \u201cbiology-based definitions for the words \u2018male\u2019 and \u2018female\u2019 pursuant to Title\u00a0IX\u201d and Trump\u2019s February executive order banning trans athletes from playing on the team that aligns with their gender.<\/p>\n
That statement also went up Tuesday. In it, the university promised to follow Trump\u2019s trans athlete ban, as well as the executive order he signed that withdraws federal recognition of transgender people, with regard to women\u2019s athletics.<\/p>\n
In the department\u2019s announcement, Paula Scanlan, one of Thomas\u2019s former teammates who has since led the crusade against trans women athletes, said she was \u201cdeeply 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.”<\/p>\n
Shiwali Patel, senior director of safe and inclusive schools at the National Women\u2019s Law Center, criticized the agreement in a statement Tuesday as a \u201cdevastating and shameful outcome.\u201d She blamed Penn\u2019s \u201cutter failure\u201d as well as the department\u2019s \u201ccontinued manipulation of Title\u00a0IX.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Trump administration\u2019s attacks on civil rights protections, including Title\u00a0IX, and obsession with undermining bodily autonomy is the real harm to women and girls, unlike transgender athletes who want to compete in sports alongside their peers and pose no threat to women\u2019s sports, contrary to Trump\u2019s lies,\u201d Patel said in the statement. \u201cIn fact, their inclusion benefits all women and girls. We will continue to support Lia Thomas and her peers and their right to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The university plans to \u201capologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.\u201d Photo illustration by Justin Morrison\/Inside Higher Ed | Kyle Mazza\/Anadolu\/Getty Images | Rich von Biberstein\/Icon Sportswire\/Getty Images The University of Pennsylvania will concede to the Trump administration\u2019s demands that the university<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[2479,2482,2483,1751,2478,2480,2481,71],"class_list":{"0":"post-9862","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"tag-agrees","9":"tag-athletes","10":"tag-awards","11":"tag-demands","12":"tag-penn","13":"tag-strip","14":"tag-trans","15":"tag-trumps"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}