The University of Pennsylvania has agreed to retrospectively strip Leah Thomas, a transgender woman and former Upenn swimmer, as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Education.
The Education Department had threatened to withhold $175 million in federal funds from the university as punishment for allowing Thomas to compete as a woman in 2022.
Since taking office, the department has complied with Trump’s executive order, which states that the US recognizes only two genders based on biological characteristics at birth, and has launched multiple inquiries to schools that allegedly allow trans athletes to compete in female-designated sports.
The department argues that allowing trans athletes to compete in women’s sports is a violation of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits gender-based discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities.
Thomas originally swam for Upenn’s men’s team, but joined the women’s team in fourth grade after the transition. She was following the NCAA rules at the time, so transgender athletes had to undergo hormone therapy for at least a year before competing as a woman. She went on to beat schools, met the record and became the first trans woman to win the NCAA swimming championship in the Division I girls 500 yards freestyle.
She also finished fifth in the 200-yard freestyle. Bounded with Riley Gaines, he later angered Thomas’ participation to become an anti-transgender activist, finishing in eighth in the 100-yard freestyle.
As part of a settlement with the Trump administration, the university has agreed to ban trans athletes from competing in designated sports for female participants, removing Thomas and other trans athletes from school records, titles and honours, and instead awarding them to cisgender female swimmers. axios.
In a statement announcing the resolution, UPenn President J. Larry Jameson said the school was compliant with the NCAA eligibility rules and the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX, which applies to gender identity and biological sex when Thomas allowed them to compete.
“Pen is always following the NCAA’s applicable policies on Title IX and transgender athletes.
Jameson noted that the university will break Up the Upenn women’s swimming records.
“Pen policy I acknowledge that the 2021-2022 swimming season was in compliance with the then NCAA eligibility rules, and therefore some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules,” he wrote.
Praising the settlement as a way to restore funds, even if withholding, had a serious impact on the school, Jameson said the university remains committed to inclusivity.
“Our At the same time, we must comply with federal requirements, including executive orders and NCAA eligibility rules, so teams and student-athletes may engage in competitive intercollegiate sports,” he wrote.
Among them Prepared Statement Reaffirming its compliance with Title IX, the university wrote that “female students will not be excluded from participation, female students will not deny the benefits of discrimination in the athletics program or deny female students on the subject.”
The statement also revealed that female student athletes do not need to share locker rooms or toilets with athletes who are not assigned women at birth, and that the gender of sports and athletic facilities will be maintained “regardless of future policies from sports or future governments, regardless of current or future governments, such as IVY leagues and individual sports equipment.”
Upenn faces a lawsuit from three former female swimmers who claim they were “emotionally traumatized” by having to compete with Thomas and share the locker room facility. Fox News.
The lawsuit alleges that Upenn officials violated their rights under Title IX and handed the athlete to Gas because they felt concerns with teammates born from “psychological issues.” The former swimmers also claim that they were led to believe that if they issued a public statement against Thomas’ participation, if they protested or issued an official statement, they would be removed from the team.
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