The Trump administration has blocked the University of Pennsylvania from receiving $175 million in federal funding over its policy allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. The funding freeze was not related to the independent investigation by the Department of Education into potential violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 Act that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal funding.
However, the university has not received any notification about the funding freeze and claims to have fully complied with the NCAA’s updated guidelines on the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
“We are aware of media reports suggesting a suspension of $175 million in federal funding to Penn, but have not yet received any official notification or any details,” a UPenn spokesperson told Fox Business which first reported the funding freeze.
“It is important to note, however, that Penn has always followed NCAA and Ivy League policies regarding student participation on athletic teams. We have been in the past, and remain today, in full compliance with the regulations that apply to not only Penn, but all of our NCAA and Ivy League peer institutions.”
Recently, Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) found that the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association, and Greely High School violated Title IX by allowing a transgender teen to compete against girls in a track and field event. The Trump administration had also directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to halt federal funding for the University of Maine System (UMS) after the state’s politicians vowed to ignore the President’s trans policy. The funding freeze was later reversed after RINO Republican Senator Susan Collins intervened and negotiated with the Trump administration.
San Jose State University and Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association are also under investigation for allowing transgender athletes to compete against women. San Jose State University made headlines after including a transgender player on its volleyball team, prompting several female teams to refuse to play. In 2022, Payton McNabb was severely injured after a transgender volleyball player spiked a ball in her head, resulting in traumatic brain injuries. Subsequently, their boycott could be perceived as a security measure to avoid potential severe injuries.
In the same year, UPenn included a transgender athlete Lia Thomas, who proceeded to win the national championship in women’s 500-yard freestyle. By October 2024, transgender athletes had won over 900 medals across 400 events in 29 sports, displacing over 600 biological female athletes. The Trump administration has been requested to investigate an Illinois school district after a mother reported that her 13-year-old was forced to change in front of a transgender athlete. According to the girl’s mother, she was told that the biological male student could use the bathroom because now he identifies as a female.
The following day, the girls reportedly refused to change during physical education because the transgender student was present. However, the school’s assistant administrator, the principal, and several teachers entered the girls’ locker room and forced them to change in front of the transgender student. Meanwhile, Illinois Democrat state representative Bob Morgan accused the teenage girl of lying and lauded the people “who stood up for those who need to be defended and protected” referring to the transgender student.
