WASHINGTON—The White House has struck a deal with the University of Pennsylvania that requires the school to strip trans-identifying male swimmer Lia Thomas of the titles he won on the women&#8217;s team, The Daily Wire has learned.
The University of Pennsylvania will restore all titles to female athletes that were &#8220;misappropriated&#8221; by male athletes, according to a landmark agreement between the Trump administration and the University of Pennsylvania, a White House official shared with The Daily Wire.
Thomas competed as a female swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania, infamously tying with University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines in 2022 at the NCAAs and taking her trophy — prompting Gaines to take a stand against men in women&#8217;s sports.
&#8220;President Trump has been one of the strongest and most consistent champions for protecting women’s sports,&#8221; the White House official shared. &#8220;Under his leadership, the administration has taken decisive action — through executive orders, public messaging, and policy initiatives — to affirm a simple truth: men do not belong in women’s sports.&#8221;
&#8220;In stark contrast, the University of Pennsylvania has repeatedly violated the spirit and letter of Title IX by allowing biological males to compete in women’s athletic programs — undermining decades of progress and the hard-earned achievements of female athletes,&#8221; the official added.
Under the new agreement, the school is promising to comply with Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.
The University of Pennsylvania will not allow males to compete in female sports or use female &#8220;intimate facilities&#8221; and will adopt &#8220;biology-based definitions&#8221; for &#8220;male&#8221; and &#8220;female&#8221; that comply with Trump&#8217;s executive orders on the issue.
The school will also send a &#8220;personalized letter of apology to each impacted female swimmer,&#8221; according to the agreement.
Gaines is one of the female athletes who could receive a letter. She spoke at a White House event on Thursday celebrating the agreement, along with several other female athletes who competed with trans-identifying males.
Shortly after Trump took office, the NCAA, which governs sports for more than half a million college athletes, <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/news/2025/2/6/media-center-ncaa-announces-transgender-student-athlete-participation-policy-change.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">changed</a> its transgender athlete policy to “limit competition in women’s sports to student-athletes assigned female at birth only.”
However, the Trump administration continues to pressure several blue states that still allow trans-identifying males in women&#8217;s sports.
Last week, the Department of Education <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/department-of-education-says-california-violated-title-ix-threatens-legal-action">announced</a> that California was officially in violation of Title IX because the state allows men to compete in women’s sports. The administration gave California 10 days to comply or face losing federal funds.

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Mary Margaret Olohan and Mairead Elordi

UPenn Agrees To Strip Medals From Lia Thomas As Part Of Sweeping White House Deal