NWLC Reacts to Penn and Ed Dept. Agreement

This afternoon, the US Department of Education announced reached an agreement with the University of Pennsylvania on what it deems as “Title IX violations” the school allegedly committed. This agreement includes stripping athlete Lia Thomas of accolades she earned while swimming for Penn.

Shiwali Patel, senior director of safe and inclusive schools at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), issued the following statement in response.

“The University of Pennsylvania’s utter failure to stand up for transgender students and the Department of Education’s continued manipulation of Title IX to harm transgender students have led to this devastating and shameful outcome. The Trump administration’s attacks on civil rights protections, including Title IX, and obsession with undermining bodily autonomy is the real harm to women and girls, unlike transgender athletes who want to compete in sports alongside their peers and pose no threat to women’s sports, contrary to Trump’s lies. In fact, their inclusion benefits all women and girls. We will continue to support Lia Thomas and her peers and their right to compete.”