UPenn to Apologize to Female Athletes for Title IX Violations, Strip Swimmer ‘Lia’ Thomas of Medals
The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) has agreed to resolve Title IX violations that arose when biological male swimmer Lia (Will) Thomas was allowed to compete on the women’s team in the 2021-22 season.
UPenn has agreed to strip Thomas of medals that he won while competing against female athletes and also to apologize to any female athletes that were harmed as a result of the school’s earlier policies.
The agreement with the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights also promises to restore women’s records erased by Thomas, to ban males from women’s teams and locker rooms and to post biology-based definitions of sex under Title IX.
🚨 BREAKING: Trump admin forces UPenn to BAN males from women’s sports
The DOE has announced UPenn will now:
✅ Ban men from women’s teams & locker rooms
✅ Restore women’s records erased by Lia Thomas
✅ Issue public apology to female swimmers
✅ Post biology-based sex… pic.twitter.com/Pp5VetrLTZ— Colin Wright (@SwipeWright) July 1, 2025
In March, the Trump administration had threatened to withhold $175 million in funding from UPenn in response to the university’s policy of allowing men to compete in women’s sports.
U.S. Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon celebrated the announcement, stating, “Today is a great victory for women and girls, not only at the University of Pennsylvania, but all across our nation. 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.”
Paula Scanlan is one of Thomas’ former teammates and has been outspoken regarding the emotional distress she experienced while being forced to share a locker room with a biological male for an entire season.
Scanlan told Outkick, “Today marks a momentous step toward repairing the past mistreatment of female athletes and forging a future where sex discrimination no longer limits girls’ potential.”
Scanlan also expressed gratitude to the Trump administration for “standing firm” in protecting women and girls.
.@PaulaYScanlan reacts to news that her university, UPenn, has been forced to protect women’s spaces: “This is, quite literally, what I voted for!” pic.twitter.com/hoUJABdjOv
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) July 1, 2025