UPenn caves to Trump’s demands to strip transgender swimmer of titles and other concessions

The University of Pennsylvania has agreed to a slew of concessions to the Trump administration in relation to transgender athletes in the latest victory of the culture war.

President Donald Trump has made it a focus of his second term to oppose the movement equating transgender athletes to all other athletes, and the university caved to the pressure Tuesday.

‘Today is a great victory for women and girls not only at the University of Pennsylvania, but all across our nation.’

The Department of Education announced that it had reached an agreement with the university that included stripping swimming titles from Lia (William) Thomas, a famous transgender athlete.

The university also agreed to ban biologically male athletes from female competitions, to restore all titles that female swimmers lost to Thomas, and to send a personalized apology letter to all swimmers.

“Today is a great victory for women and girls not only at the University of Pennsylvania, but all across our nation,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. “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.”

RELATED: NCAA swimmers say they were told they may have ‘psychological’ problems if they had issues with Lia Thomas

Thomas won the national college title in 2022 in the 500-yard freestyle swimming event. The former swimmer said in April that he continued to support transgender athletes choosing to compete against the gender they chose.

“It has to be the athletes deciding for themselves where they feel most affirmed and most comfortable,” he said. “Having routes that are safe and nondiscriminatory, that allow them access to that.”

“Our commitment to ensuring a respectful and welcoming environment for all of our students is unwavering,” reads a statement from university president J. Larry Jameson.

“At the same time, we must comply with federal requirements, including executive orders and NCAA eligibility rules, so our teams and student-athletes may engage in competitive intercollegiate sports,” he added.

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