UPenn agrees to follow Trump's mandate on protecting women's sports, Education Department says - this could be rather significant!

[Helleofabore]

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/upenn-agrees-follow-trumps-mandate-protecting-womens-sports-education-department-says

UPenn agrees to follow Trump's mandate on protecting women's sports, Education Department says

Jackson Thompson, 1st July 2025

“School will issue public statement adopting biology-based definitions and apologize to female swimmers affected by trans athlete.”

And

“Per the DOE's announcement, under UPenn's new agreement the following actions will be taken:

-UPenn will restore to female athletes all individual UPenn Division I swimming records, titles, or similar recognitions which were misappropriated by male athletes allowed to compete in female categories;

-UPenn will issue a public statement to the University community stating that it will comply with Title IX, specifying that UPenn will not allow males to compete in female athletic programs or occupy Penn Athletics female intimate facilities;

-The statement will specify that UPenn will adopt biology-based definitions for the words ‘male’ and ‘female’ pursuant to Title IX and consistent with President Trump’s Executive Orders "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism" and "Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports";

-UPenn will post the statement in a prominent location on its main website and on each of its websites for women’s athletics;

-UPenn will rescind any guidance which violated Title IX, remove or revise any internal and public-facing statements or documents that are inconsistent with Title IX, and notify all staff and women’s athletics of all such rescissions; and

-UPenn will send a personalized letter of apology to each impacted female swimmer.

Let’s see what UPenn’s statement says. It is featuring on numerous media outlets now.

UPenn bending the knee is a big deal indeed. Most of the Ivy League colleges aren't big in sports, but because of their wealth and political heft they were always going to be the toughest nut to crack.

Wow. Major climb down there.

Yes ✊. UPenn fielded a male athlete in women’s sports. This is an entirely fitting consequence. FAFO.

Gosh! Good news!

UPenn will send a personalized letter of apology to each impacted female swimmer.

UPenn needs to grovel energetically and think about some serious reparations to those girls for sanctioning repeated sexual harassment of them.

I think there's a lawsuit going ahead from some of the female athletes affected. Good luck to them; this surely helps a whole lot.

Yes. There is a group action.

I think the group action case is happening soon, if it still goes ahead.

Here is UPenn’s press release:

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/announcements/penns-title-ix-resolution-us-department-education-office-civil-rights

SENT ON BEHALF OF
J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD
President
University of Pennsylvania

To the Penn Community:

Yesterday, Penn and the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) resolved a February 2025 investigation into Penn's compliance with Title IX for women’s athletics. This is a complex issue, and I am pleased that we were able to reach a resolution through the standard OCR process for concluding Title IX investigations.

Our commitment to ensuring a respectful and welcoming environment for all of our students is unwavering. At the same time, we must comply with federal requirements, including executive orders, and NCAA eligibility rules, so our teams and student-athletes may engage in competitive intercollegiate sports.

I would like to highlight a few important points and next steps:

The Department of Education OCR investigated the participation of one transgender athlete on the women’s swimming team three years ago, during the 2021 – 2022 swim season. At that time, Penn was in compliance with NCAA eligibility rules and Title IX as then interpreted.

Penn has always followed – and continues to follow – Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes.

NCAA eligibility rules changed in February 2025 with Executive Orders 14168 and 14201 and Penn will continue to adhere to these new rules.

Penn has never maintained a policy of its own regarding the participation of transgender athletes in intercollegiate sports. Nor do we maintain our own policies related to other NCAA rules. We adhere to NCAA and Ivy League rules that are designed to ensure fair and transparent athletic competitions for all schools and participants.

Consistent with the Federal Government’s current interpretation of Title IX and current NCAA policies, we have signed a resolution agreement with the Department of Education that includes the following actions:

Releasing a public statement reaffirming our commitment to fully comply with Title IX in all of our athletic programs and to continuously adapt our practices as Title IX evolves over time. This includes adhering to definitions of sex – with respect to women’s athletics – that have been set out through two specific Executive Orders.

While Penn’s policies during the 2021-2022 swim season were in accordance with NCAA eligibility rules at the time, we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules. We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.

We will review and update the Penn women’s swimming records set during that season to indicate who would now hold the records under current eligibility guidelines.

Penn remains committed to fostering a community that is welcoming, inclusive, and open to all students, faculty, and staff. I share this commitment, just as I remain dedicated to preserving and advancing the University’s vital and enduring mission. We have now brought to a close an investigation that, if unresolved, could have had significant and lasting implications for the University of Pennsylvania.

Here is UPenn’s statement:

https://titleixoffice.upenn.edu/about/title-ix-compliance-in-athletics

Title IX Compliance in Athletics
July 01, 2025

The University of Pennsylvania will comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq. (“Title IX”), as interpreted by the Department of Education, in all of its athletics programs.

As of February 5, 2025, all practices, policies, and procedures adopted and implemented by the University with respect to women’s athletics will comply with Executive Order 14168, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government (Jan. 20, 2025), in keeping with Executive Order 14201, Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports (Feb. 5, 2025).

The University will not—on the basis of sex—exclude female students from participation in, deny female students the benefits of, or subject female students to discrimination under, any athletics programs. In addition, in providing to female student-athletes intimate facilities such as locker rooms and bathrooms in connection with Penn Athletics, such facilities shall be strictly separated on the basis of sex and comparably provided to each sex.

Title IX applies irrespective of current or future policies from sporting or scholastic governing bodies, such as the Ivy League or individual sporting bodies. The University will not delegate its obligation to comply with Title IX to an external association or other entity and it will not contract with, or arrange with any third party entity to provide benefits of the University’s athletics programs, if that third-party entity is acting in violation of Title IX.