LGBTQ, legal groups slam UPenn for 'caving' to Trump's trans athlete ban
Source: ABC News
July 4, 2025, 6:07 AM
The University of Pennsylvania's decision to ban transgender female athletes from competing in women's sports to resolve a civil rights complaint by the Department of Education is being slammed by LGBTQ activists and legal experts as unconstitutional.
The Trump administration announced this week that the Ivy League school has agreed to follow the Department of Education's interpretation of Title IX, the landmark civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.
The administration had previously suspended $175 million in federal contracts awarded to Penn, citing the participation of openly transgender athlete Lia Thomas on the women's swimming team during the 2021-2022 season.
"It's embarrassing, dangerous and ill-advised. I think they made a very big mistake that they will come to regret," Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, told ABC News. "It's bizarre behavior, and it just seems humiliating that such a powerful, respected university is just caving in to these cruel and gratuitously hurtful positions."
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/lgbtq-legal-groups-slam-upenn-caving-trumps-trans/story?id=123443815