The University of Pennsylvania has resolved with the U.S. Department of Education (DOE),
agreeing to prohibit biological males who identify as female from participating in women’s
sports. This development was confirmed by DOE Secretary Linda McMahon during a speech
delivered on July 1.
According to McMahon, the university will also issue personal apologies to female athletes who
were required to compete against male participants and will remove records set by male athletes
in women’s competitions. “This is a long-awaited accomplishment and a milestone in our fight
to restore sanity, fairness, and integrity to women’s sports,” McMahon stated. She emphasized
that the effort to protect women’s athletics was rooted in common sense, even though achieving
it proved challenging.
Among those affected is Lia Thomas, a swimmer who competed for UPenn during the 2021–
2022 season. The university confirmed it would revise swimming records from that season to
reflect updated eligibility guidelines.
McMahon added that UPenn had agreed to revise its athletics policies to ensure female athletes
would not have to compete against biological males or share intimate facilities with them in the
future. “The Trump administration made it clear 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,” she said.
UPenn President J. Larry Jameson issued a public statement on July 1, announcing that the
resolution with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) had concluded a February 2025 Title IX
investigation. “This is a complex issue, and I am pleased that we were able to resolve it through
the standard OCR process,” Jameson stated.
Jameson affirmed the university’s commitment to a respectful and inclusive campus environment
while also acknowledging its obligation to comply with federal regulations, executive orders, and
NCAA eligibility rules. He clarified that UPenn had never established its transgender athlete
policy, instead following NCAA and Ivy League guidelines designed to ensure fair competition.
The university’s resolution agreement includes a public statement committing to compliance
with executive orders signed earlier this year by former President Donald Trump, including
“Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism” and “Keeping Men Out of Women’s
Sports.”
The statement pledges that female students will not be excluded from athletic opportunities or
subjected to discrimination. Furthermore, locker rooms and similar facilities will be “strictly
separated based on sex and comparably provided to each sex.”
Jameson acknowledged that while the university followed NCAA rules in 2021–2022, some
student-athletes may have experienced unfair disadvantages. “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,” he said.
Among those voicing support for the resolution was Riley Gaines, a six-time record holder at the
University of Kentucky and NCAA championship competitor who tied with Lia Thomas in a
2022 event. Gaines later recounted being told by an NCAA official that Thomas would hold the
trophy during photographs despite their identical finish time.
McMahon also commended both Gaines and fellow advocate Paula Scanlan, acknowledging
their contributions to the cause of women’s athletic rights. “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,” she said.