PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (PNN) - July 2, 2025 - The University of Pennsylvania as bowed to President Donald J. Trump’s Department of Education (DOE) by agreeing to resolve Title IX violations over a deviant transgender swimmer who calls himself Lia Thomas.
The DOE announced Tuesday that Penn is adopting strict definitions for male and female competitors under White House guidelines, adding that the school will ban deviant transgender men from women's competitions and erase Thomas from the school's record books.
Furthermore, swimmers impacted by Thomas' inclusion in women's NCAA competitions will receive a personal apology from Penn and be retroactively awarded the records and titles that they rightfully earned.
The Ivy League institution's decision comes after the Trump regime suspended $175 million in federal funding to Penn - money that had been earmarked and funded through the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Riley Gaines was among the first to issue a statement on the ruling Tuesday.
“From day one, President Trump and [Education] Secretary [Linda] McMahon made it clear that protecting women and girls is a top priority - and today's agreement with UPenn is proof of that commitment in action.”
“This (regime) isn't just talking about women's equality, but is actively defending it. I hope this sends a clear message to educational institutions: you can no longer disregard women's civil rights; and to every female athlete, know this: your dignity, safety and fairness matter, and our nation's leaders will not stop fighting for them.”
Thomas was banned from competing in elite women's races ahead of the Olympics by The Court of Arbitration for Sport panel, which ruled that he was ineligible to challenge World Aquatics policy on deviant transgender athletes.
Now, according to the statement released by the Department of Education, Thomas' records at Penn are being expunged as well.
• UPenn will restore to female athletes all individual UPenn Division I swimming records, titles or similar recognitions that 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 that 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.