Donald Trump is fulfilling his promise of banning transgender female athletes, and is taking it even further, as his administration has suspended approximately $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania, seemingly in retaliation for the victory that Lia Thomas, a swimmer and former student, got in 2022, when she became the first openly transgender athlete to win a championship (via AP).
Thomas, who studied in the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), won the the women's 500-yard freestyle event in 2022, the first transgender person to win in an NCAA Division (college sport). She graduated that year. Her case received quite a lot of media scrutiny, particularly from conservative media such as Fox News.
Three years later, with Trump back at the White House and signing an order banning transgender athletes in women's sports, his administration has targeted the university, cutting the funds on the pretext that the university does not follow their interpretation of Title IX, which outlaws sex-based discrimination in schools and colleges, interpreting 'sex' as gender assigned at birth.
However, a spokesperson from the university said that they had not received any notification for the suspension of the funds, and say that they have always followed NCAA policies regarding athlete's participation. The rules by the time Thomas took part in the competition asked for a minimum of 12 month-hormone replacement therapy, which Thomas fulfilled. But after Trump's order on February 2025, the NCAA changed its rule, and now only allows athletes with female as the gender assigned at birth.