Penn strikes agreement with Trump administration over trans athletes [View all]
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
Published July 1, 2025, 4:02 p.m. ET
The University of Pennsylvania will send “personalized” letters of apology to its female athletes who felt aggrieved by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas’ participation on their team and restore Penn records and honors they would have won if not for Thomas, as part of a resolution agreement reached with the federal government.
Penn becomes the first Ivy League university to strike a truce with President Donald Trump’s administration —at least on this issue — since it began targeting some of the nation’s elite universities, threatening funding and damaging policy changes if they don’t comply with certain demands.
It was not immediately clear whether the deal would result in the restoration of $175 million in federal funding to Penn that the White House said was paused in March, citing Thomas’ participation.
According to a two-page document obtained by The Inquirer, Penn has also agreed to issue a public statement, which will be posted prominently on its website, saying that it will abide by Title IX — the civil rights law that prohibits sexual harassment and discrimination — “as interpreted by the Department of Education.” But the agreement is restricted only to athletics and doesn’t affect other areas of university operations.
Read more: https://www.inquirer.com/education/penn-trump-trans-athletes-lia-thomas-agreement-20250701.html
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