Lia Thomas made history in 2022 when she became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship, one of the greatest honours in U.S. college sports. Thomas’s win in women’s swimming while competing for the University of Pennsylvania got a lot of attention around the country and rapidly became a key point in the larger argument about including transgender people in sports.
Now, in a big and contentious turn of events, the federal government has changed its stance, and Thomas’ NCAA medals and records will be taken away. President Donald Trump signed one of his first executive orders after taking office in early 2025. It was about transgender people being able to play sports. The ruling basically stops transgender women from playing in female sports in high schools, colleges, and community sports organisations that get government money. Trump’s order had robust enforcement measures, and it warned that institutions that didn’t follow it may lose their federal funding.
The University of Pennsylvania has agreed to amend its official athletic record books for the 2021–2022 season because of this new policy and the legal action that followed. Thomas’ name will no longer be on individual women’s swimming records, and her NCAA medals will no longer be valid. Her time as a member of the 4x100m relay team will still be recorded, but it’s not clear if it will be legally recognised in the NCAA’s own records.
After a months-long inquiry by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the U.S. Department of Education confirmed that the university had reached a resolution agreement. The OCR said that UPenn’s choice to let Thomas compete in women’s competitions broke Title IX, a federal civil rights statute that was passed in 1972 and says that schools that get federal money can’t discriminate against students based on their sex.
As part of the settlement, the university will issue formal letters of apology to each female athlete who was thought to have been hurt by Thomas’ participation. The OCR’s report said that the school’s actions “discriminated against cisgender women” by letting a transgender athlete participate in a category that wasn’t right for her birth-assigned sex.
The University of Pennsylvania justified its actions at the time in a public statement, saying that its rules for the 2021–2022 season were in conformity with NCAA rules at the time. However, the university acknowledged that these conditions could have created an unfair competition environment. The statement said, “We know that these rules hurt some student-athletes.” “We know the consequences and will say sorry to anyone who felt like they had a competitive disadvantage or felt anxious because of the rules that were in place at the time.”
Penn’s Lia Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships.
Thomas becomes the first known transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship in any sport.
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— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 17, 2022
The verdict has generated a new national debate about gender, justice, and inclusion in competitive sports. People who agree with the judgement say it makes women’s sports fair again and protects possibilities for cisgender female athletes. But others see it as a step back for LGBTQ+ rights, especially for transgender people who want to be included and treated equally under the law.
This ruling will undoubtedly have effects on sports, civil rights policy, and public conversation for years to come, even if Thomas’ name is being removed from the record books. Even though her individual records may no longer hold, her presence in the national discourse about women and sport is still very important and not over.