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U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon undoubtedly unveiled the biggest stage of President Donald Trump’s mission to combat Trans inclusion in female sports on Tuesday.
The announcement that the University of Pennsylvania had resolved a resolution with the administration on its management of the situation of Lia Thomas years ago has closed a controversy which sparked a cultural debate when Thomas competed in the NCAA female swimming championship in 2022.
The swimmer of the University of Pennsylvania, Lia Thomas, on the left, and the Kentucky swimmer, Riley Gaines, react after having finished equally in the 5th rank of the 200 free knots at the NCAA swimming and diving championships on March 18, 2022 at McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. (Rich von Biberstein / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Thomas saga at the NCAA 2022 championships is largely considered a cultural turning point in the national debate on transgender athletes in female sports. At the time, the current conservative activist Riley Gaines was just a dental student who was to be satisfied with equality with Thomas in one of the events of the NCAA championship.
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McMahon followed the situation through the news that year.
“The first thing when I looked at and saw the difference in size between Riley Gaines and Lia Thomas, I said:” Oh my god, it’s simply unfair “,” said McMahon to PK Press Club Digital, recalling when Gaines sadly linked Thomas in this year’s competition. “To think, given all this, she linked, which is incredible, but it was simply unfair. She should have left with that, clearly coming for fifth place, and that simply did not happen.”
McMahon said that she hoped for Tuesday’s announcement to send a message to other girls in high school and college across the country.
“I think these girls, I hope they will look at Riley and Paula [Scanlan] And others as real models and give them the strength to get up, “said McMahon.
The department previously launched an investigation into Upenn on February 6. The Trump administration then created $ 175 million in school funding on March 20. Then, on April 28, the Civil Rights Office of the Department of Education announced that its investigation concluded that Upenn had violated title IX in its management of the situation of Thomas.
Now Upenn has agreed to implement a strict policy by keeping the trans athletes in female sports and excuses all the women who have been affected.
However, McMahon’s work does not end with Upenn. The Ministry of Education and other branches of Trump administration are fighting against the issue on several fronts, with an active trial against the state of Maine for having refused to comply with Trump’s mandate on the issue. The administration is also in a confrontation with California and Minnesota on the issue, as well as the states which aggressively challenged Trump’s mandate on the issue.
McMahon hopes that the Upenn agreement sends a message to these states.
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The former swimmer in Division 1 of the NCAA, Paula Scanlan, testifies before the judicial subcommittee of the Chamber on the Constitution and the limited government. (C-SPAN)
“Our sincere hope is that they absolutely recognize what they will have to do in relation to complying with title IX. This is the law,” said McMahon. “There are federal funds that have been removed and withdrawn, so there are penalties involved in this. But it is in fact the right thing to do, it is common sense to do, that men should not compete in female sports.”
The same day that the McMahon department announced its investigation against Upenn, it also announced an investigation against the State University of San Jose for its treatment of the former Transgender Volleyball player Blaire Fleming. The situation involving Fleming culminated in a national advertising scandal during the fall 2024 season, which included multiple prosecutions of San Jose State and other Mountain West volleyball players.
Recently, PK Press Club Digital reported that the Mountain West Conference had hired the same law firm to investigate the allegations of misconduct of the Trans athlete that the conference used to defend the admissibility of the athlete in the conference tournament.
PK Press Club Digital reported on June 24 that the Mountain West had hired the firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher to investigate allegations against Fleming de Potto with an opponent to have his teammate Brooke Slusser Injured in a match on October 3.
Mountain West hired the company to manage the survey during the same month as the same company represented the conference to protect Fleming’s eligibility in a preliminary injunction request for the disqualified athlete of women’s competition and the conference tournament.
Balage Fleming of the San Jose State Spartans looks during the second set against the Falcons of the Air Force in Falcon Court to East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Wevers / Getty Images)
Now, with the UPENN situation resolved, McMahon will continue to work to approach the SJSU investigation.
“Our investigation will continue,” said McMahon about the development situation with SJSU.
