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American Education Secretary Linda McMahon undoubtedly revealed the biggest step in President Donald Trump’s mission to fight trans -cluttering in women’s sports Tuesday.
The announcement that the University of Pennsylvania had come to a decision with the administration of its handling of the Lia Thomas situation years ago closed a controversy that ignited a cultural debate when Thomas competed in NCAA Kvinde’s swimming championship in 2022.
University of Pennsylvania Swimmer Lia Thomas, Left, and Kentucky swimming Riley Gaines responds after completing tied to the 5th of the 200 Freestyle final in 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 championship in 2022 is largely regarded as a cultural turning point in the national debate on transking athletes in women’s sports. At that time, the current prominent conservative activist Riley Gaines was just a dentist who had to settle for a tie with Thomas in one of the NCAA championships.
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McMahon followed the situation through the news that year.
“The first thing when I looked and saw the difference in size between Riley Gaines and Lia Thomas, I said, ‘Oh, my Gosh, this is just completely unfair,'” McMahon told Pakinomist Digital, who remembered when Gaines noted Thomas in that year’s competition. “To think, given all that, she bound, which is great, but it was just completely unfair. She should have gone away with what clearly came in in the fifth place and it just didn’t happen.”
McMahon said she hopes Tuesday’s message will send a message to other girls in high school and college across the country.
“I think these girls, hopefully they will look at Riley and Paula [Scanlan] And others like real role models and give them the strength to get up, ”McMahon said.
The department previously launched a survey of Upenn on February 6th. Trump administration later froze $ 175 million in financing for the school on March 20. Then, on April 28, the Education Department Office of Civil Rights announced that Upenn violated the title IX in his handling of the Thomas situation.
Now Upenn has agreed to implement a strict policy that keeps trans athletes out of women’s sports and issues apology to all the women who have been affected.
However, McMahon’s work does not end with Upenn. The Department of Education and other branches of Trump’s administration are fighting the question on several fronts with an active trial against the state Maine for refusing to comply with Trump’s mandate on the issue. The administration is also in a standoff with California and Minnesota over the question as well as the states that have aggressively defied Trump’s mandate for the question.
McMahon hopes Upenn’s agreement will send a message to these states.
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Former NCAA Division 1 -Paula Scanlan witnesses the Sub -Committee of the House Court of the Constitution and the limited government. (C-span)
“Our sincere hope is that they absolutely recognize what they will have to do in terms of complying with section IX. That’s the law,” McMahon said. “There are federal funds that have been withheld and withdrawn, so there are sanctions involved in this. But it is actually just the right thing to do, it is common sense to make men not compete in women’s sports.”
On the same day when McMahon’s department announced his study against Upenn, it also announced a study against San Jose State University for his handling of the former transnry volleyball player Blaire Fleming. The situation involving Fleming culminated with a national-published scandal in the fall season 2024, which included several lawsuits by San Jose State and other Mountain West Volleyball players.
Recently, Pakinomist reported Digital that the Mountain West conference hired the same law firm to investigate Trans Athlete’s misleading charges that the conference used to defend the athlete’s eligibility for the conference tournament in court.
Pakinomist Digital reported on June 24 that Mountain West had hired the company Willkie Farr & Gallagher to investigate allegations against Fleming on conspiracy with an opponent to have teammate Brooke slushes injured during a 3rd October game.
Mountain West hired the company to handle the investigation in the same month that the same company represented the conference to protect Fleming’s eligibility in a request for a preliminary order to have the trans athlete disqualified from women’s competition and the conference tournament.
Blaire Fleming from San Jose State Spartans looks at the second set against Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at 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 tackle the SJSU study.
“Our study will continue,” McMahon said of the development situation with SJSU.
