UPenn Will Finally Revoke Transgender Swimmer’s Medals, Apologize to Female Athletes
The Washington Stand reports the University of Pennsylvania plans to revoke transgender swimmer “Lia” Thomas’ medals and apologize to female athletes forced to compete against Thomas.
In 2022, Thomas — a biological male who claims to be female — made headlines for shattering women’s swimming records and winning the women’s 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division I championship.
The NCAA even went so far as to nominate Thomas for its 2022 Woman of the Year Award.
However, in 2024 a group of female athletes filed a lawsuit arguing the NCAA violated their federal rights under Title IX by letting Thomas compete as a woman.
Earlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order protecting fairness in women’s sports under Title IX. As a result, the U.S. Department of Education says UPenn has agreed to restore female athletes’ swimming records, issue apologies to female swimmers, and take steps to make sure biological males don’t compete in women’s athletics.
All of this reminds us once again that ignoring basic biological realities about male athletes and female athletes robs women of opportunities to receive recognition for their achievements.
Letting men compete in women’s sports reverses 50 years of advancements for women and effectively erases women’s athletics.
It hampers their abilities to compete for athletic scholarships, and it hurts their professional opportunities as adults. In some sports, it can even be dangerous.
In 2021 Arkansas passed Act 461 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) preventing male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics at school. This good law protects fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.
At the time, some people questioned if it was really necessary to pass Act 461, but four years later, it’s clear Arkansas lawmakers made the right call. Since then, some 29 states have passed similar measures protecting fairness in women’s sports.
It’s also worth mentioning that pollsters at Gallup have found most Americans agree that athletes should compete according to their biological sex — not their gender identity.
We deeply appreciate our elected leaders and policymakers who work hard to protect fairness in women’s sports both in Arkansas and across the country.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
