Trans Athlete Controversy: The Trump administration has suspended $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, citing the Ivy League university’s past decisions to allow transgender athletes (Trans Athlete Controversy) to participate in women’s sports. The White House shared the decision Wednesday via an official post on its X platform, calling the move a fulfilment of promises and accusing the university of “forcing women to compete against men.”
This marks the latest clash between the Trump administration and higher education institutions over policies tied to campus diversity and inclusion. According to a White House representative, both the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services are holding back discretionary funds while reviewing the university’s eligibility.
What is Trans Athlete Controversy
“UPenn allowed a biological male to compete on its women’s swim team, shattering multiple women’s records and granting access to female locker rooms,” the spokesperson said in an official statement.
Although Penn currently has no transgender athletes on its women’s teams, the White House has not specified the legal grounds for the funding freeze or the criteria for restoring the funds.
The controversy traces back to Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer who made headlines in 2022 by becoming the first known transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I title while competing for Penn. Her participation ignited legal challenges, including a lawsuit filed last month by three of her former teammates. Thomas graduated from Penn in 2022.
A Penn spokesperson said the university has not received formal notice regarding the funding suspension and is awaiting further details.
This development follows President Trump’s recent executive order barring transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports, warning that institutions violating the order could lose federal funding. The order argues that such participation conflicts with Title IX, the law designed to protect against sex-based discrimination in educational settings.
The White House emphasized that the Penn funding freeze is unrelated to the Department of Education’s ongoing Title IX investigation into the university.
Soon after Trump’s executive order, the NCAA revised its guidelines, now restricting women’s sports competition to athletes assigned female at birth. The policy, however, still allows transgender women to practice with women’s teams and access benefits like medical care during practice.
A university representative stated that Penn abides by both NCAA and Ivy League athletic policies and remains fully compliant with all current regulations.
According to the NCAA, fewer than 10 transgender athletes are competing across its three divisions out of more than 500,000 student-athletes. Nevertheless, the topic remains contentious, with advocates for the ban arguing it protects fairness, while critics say it undermines equal opportunities for transgender students.
The Penn decision comes on the heels of similar actions by the Trump administration, including the suspension of $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University. In that instance, the administration followed up with a list of requirements Columbia must meet before funding resumes, including placing one of its departments under receivership.
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