University of Pennsylvania Cancels Trans Swimmer’s Records Amid Civil Rights Settlement.
In a significant development in 2025, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) has agreed to prevent transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports, effectively nullifying the records established by Lia Thomas, a well-known trans swimmer. This decision follows pressure from the administration of former President Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, UPenn and the U.S. Department of Education announced a settlement to resolve a federal civil rights inquiry focused on Thomas, who transitioned from male to female and won a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I championship in 2022, marking a historic moment as the first trans athlete to achieve this milestone.
Since beginning hormone replacement therapy in 2019, Thomas set multiple UPenn records in women’s swimming, including the 100-meter and 500-meter freestyle events. Her achievements sparked intense discussions regarding equality in athletics, with advocates heralding her participation as a step towards inclusion, while critics—including some of Thomas’s own teammates—argued it undermined women’s rights.
UPenn’s president, Larry Jameson, acknowledged the competitive disadvantages faced by some student athletes due to the NCAA rules that were in place during Thomas’s tenure. Following an executive order from Trump that threatened funding for institutions allowing trans women to compete, the NCAA updated its eligibility criteria in March, now restricting participation in women’s events to individuals who are female at birth.
“We acknowledge this and will extend our apologies to those who felt disadvantaged or anxious due to the prevailing policies,” Jameson stated. “We will also review and adjust the women’s swimming records at Penn to reflect the current eligibility criteria.”
After the announcement, UPenn removed Thomas from its “All-Time School Records” section on its website, noting that the records were achieved under the eligibility rules of that time.
This decision comes on the heels of the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights declaring in April that UPenn violated Title IX by allowing transgender individuals to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics. U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon described the agreement as a significant triumph for women and girls.
“We commend UPenn for taking steps to rectify the past inequalities against women and girls, and we will persistently advocate for the enforcement of Title IX,” McMahon declared.
Responses from LGBTQ advocacy organizations, such as the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD, were not immediately available.
This decision is part of a broader movement in the United States and beyond to restrict transgender participation in sports, which has intensified since Trump returned to power. In March, World Athletics announced plans to demand DNA testing for athletes competing in women’s events to confirm their biological sex.
Public sentiment appears to be shifting, with a January New York Times/Ipsos poll revealing that 79% of Americans believe transgender women should be barred from competing in female sports, an increase from 62% in 2021.