Overview

• The University of Pennsylvania’s new biology-based definition of sex prohibits athletes who underwent male puberty from competing in female sports programs.
• In response to a Department of Education Office for Civil Rights finding that UPenn violated Title IX, the university stripped Thomas of her women’s swim titles and erased her program records.
• Administrators issued a formal apology to female swimmers who reported discomfort and privacy breaches while sharing locker rooms with a biological male athlete.
• Former teammates recounted changing in bathroom stalls and timing undress around Thomas’s routines, and alleged they were pressured by UPenn officials to stay silent or attend LGBTQ counseling.
• The policy shift follows Trump administration guidance defining sex by biology and threats to withhold federal funding from schools seen as noncompliant with those rules.