Pursuant to President Donald Trump’s Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports Executive Order, the U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday investigations into two educational institutions and an athletic association where violations of Title IX have been reported.
“President Trump’s Executive Order ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ is a promise to women and girls: this administration will not tolerate the mistreatment of female athletes," Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said on the DOJ website. "The Department is taking swift action to investigate three entities for suspected Title IX violations: San Jose State University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. The previous administration trampled the rights of American women and girls—and ignored the indignities to which they were subjected in bathrooms and locker rooms — to promote a radical transgender ideology. That regime ended on January 20, 2025.”
The Department’s Office for Civil Rights is launching directed investigations into the following entities for apparent Title IX violations:
- San Jose State University
- University of Pennsylvania
- Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association
Additionally, OCR is actively reviewing athletic participation policies at a number of schools to evaluate their alignment with Title IX protections for female athletes.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education notified K-12 schools and higher education institutions of a return to enforcing Title IX protections on the basis of biological sex. Yesterday’s Executive Order ensures that federally funded institutions of higher education prioritize fairness and safety in women’s sports.
“I’m deeply grateful to the Department of Education for addressing Title IX violations concerning female athletes with such seriousness," said Paula Scanlan, former University of Pennsylvania Women’s Swimming and Diving athlete, according to the DOJ announcement. "As a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer who was forced to compete against and share a locker room with a male athlete, I look forward to them holding accountable the higher education institutions that promoted this."
As ESPN and its wire services describe it, the investigation at Penn focuses on Lia Thomas, who swam on the women's team and was the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I title in 2022. Thomas graduated that year.
The DOJ describes the Penn situation as follows: "The University of Pennsylvania awarded Lia Thomas, a male, a roster spot on the Women’s Swimming and Diving team. One of Thomas’ former teammates, Paula Scanlan testified before Congress that she and her teammates were 'offered psychological services to attempt to re-educate us to become comfortable with the idea of undressing in front of a male.' ”
Background information on the two additional investigations are presented thusly by the DOJ:
At San Jose State University (SJSU), male athlete Blaire Fleming’s dominant performance on the women’s volleyball team, which included reported dangerous strikes directed at opponent’s faces, forced competing teams to forfeit games to protect their female athletes. A lawsuit against SJSU also alleges that the university awarded Fleming a scholarship over several female players and that SJSU retaliated against those, including the women’s volleyball assistant coach, who defended female athletes.
A girls’ high school basketball team in Massachusetts forfeited a game after a male playing for the opposing female team reportedly injured three female players. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s handbook states that a “student shall not be excluded from participation on a gender-specific sports team that is consistent with the student’s bona fide gender identity.”
