Penn swimmers who lost to trans woman Lia Thomas sue over 2022 event and Title IX; school faces Trump inquiry
Three former women's swimmers at the University of Pennsylvania have filed a lawsuit seeking to remove Lia Thomas' records from the record books, a suit that comes in the wake of President Trump's administration's recent rollbacks of protections allowing transgender athletes to compete on sports teams aligned with their gender identity.
The suit dated Tuesday was filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts on behalf of Grace Estabrook, Ellen Holmquist and Margot Kaczorowski.
The nearly 90-page suit claims the student-athletes' Title IX rights were violated by Penn, the Ivy League, NCAA and Harvard University when they allowed Thomas, a transgender woman, to use the women's locker room and compete in women's events.
Thomas racked up notable achievements in Division I women's swimming in the 2022 NCAA season, coming in first in the 500-meter freestyle at the Swimming and Diving Championships that year. She had other first-place finishes in events at the Ivy League Championships held that year at Harvard's Blodgett Pool.
Before she began transitioning in 2019, Thomas competed on the men's swimming eam and followed NCAA and Ivy League rules for the process. Thomas had support from the Ivy League and Penn at the time, along with several teammates. But other athletes penned an anonymous letter asking the NCAA to bar Thomas from competing on the women's team.
Fox Business posted a clip Thursday showing Kaczorowski on "Varney & Co." discussing the suit.
Kaczorowski claimed to host Stuart Varney that the women's swimming team had an impression before the season Thomas wouldn't be using the same locker room.
"We just kind of walked into a situation where we weren't told anything and we were told that Lia couldn't be ostracized, so we either could choose to go into a family-style locker room in the hallway or something by ourselves, or just suck it up," she told host Stuart Varney.
The suit says Holmquist, one of the plaintiffs, missed the Ivy League Championships by one spot that she would have had if Thomas did not compete in the women's event. Thomas finished first in the 500 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 100 freestyle according to the suit.
The suit was backed by the conservative Independent Council on Women's Sports (ICONS) and the plaintiffs are represented by sports attorney Bill Bock. ICONS and the suit repeatedly refer to Thomas as "a man" and "male" despite her gender identity.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from women's sports. NCAA has since updated its participation policy, limiting competition in women's sports to student-athletes assigned female at birth only.
Under the latest rules, student-athletes are able to compete and practice in men's sports regardless of their gender identity, CBS News reported.
Varney asked Kaczorowski to react to that news.
"We still want to hold those institutions who wronged us accountable and we want to get Lia's name off the record board," she said.
When asked to comment, a spokesperson for the NCAA provided this statement.
College sports are the premier stage for women's sports in America, and while the NCAA does not comment on pending litigation, the Association and its members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women's sports and ensure fair competition in all NCAA championships.
A representative for Thomas had not responded to a request for comment as of Saturday. This article will be updated if a response is received.
Spokespeople for Penn did not respond to requests for comment.
Thomas has also been the subject of false articles claiming she was stripped of her "medals" or collegiate accolades and that those were transferred to Riley Gaines, another former Division I swimmer who has lobbied against trans athletes.
Unlike the Olympics, which awards medals to the top finishers in competitions, the NCAA awarded trophies at the events where Thomas had her strongest showings.
Penn, San Jose State and Massachusetts organization under investigation, Education department says
In addition to the executive orders, Trump's Education Department is opening reviews into two universities and one high school sports organization that allowed trans athletes to compete on women's teams.
The agency is opening reviews of San Jose State University volleyball, the University of Pennsylvania's swimming program and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.
The Education Department said it proactively opened the new cases over suspected violation of Title IX, a 1972 law barring sex discrimination in education. Opening an inquiry isn't meant to indicate a finding of wrongdoing, according to department policy. Additionally, the agency said it is reviewing athletics policies at a number of other schools.
It reflects the Education Department's shift in civil rights priorities as it aligns with Trump's agenda to target antisemitism and gender identity issues. The investigations also build on Trump's anti-transgender campaign rhetoric, which pledged to end "transgender insanity."
Advocates for transgender students condemned the executive order Trump signed Wednesday.
"Contrary to what the president wants you to believe, trans students do not pose threats to sports, schools or this country, and they deserve the same opportunities as their peers to learn, play and grow up in safe environments," said Fatima Goss Graves, CEO of the National Women's Law Center.
Trump's executive order also prompted the NCAA to change its participation policy on Thursday, limiting competition in women's sports to athletes assigned female at birth only.
It's unusual for the Education Department to investigate past violations of new policy, or to investigate without first receiving a complaint. San Jose State is being scrutinized over a player's participation on the women's volleyball team. A lawsuit filed by players against the Mountain West Conference argued letting her compete poses a safety risk, but San Jose State has not confirmed it has a transgender woman volleyball player. The team's season ended Nov. 30.
University president Cynthia Teniente-Matson said San Jose State will fully engage with the investigation and comply with the law as it continues to "act within our authority to uphold the values that define us as an institution."
The investigation at Penn focuses on Thomas, who graduated in 2022.
According to the Education Department, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association allowed a transgender athlete to compete on a girls' high school basketball team, prompting an opposing team to forfeit after three players were reportedly injured. The department did not identify the schools or give further details.
Athletic associations typically don't receive federal money from the Education Department, and it was not immediately clear what authority the agency had to investigate the Massachusetts league.
The department is taking exception with a policy in the association's handbook saying students "shall not be excluded from participation on a gender-specific sports team that is consistent with the student's bona fide gender identity."
The league invoked that policy last year after a girls' basketball team in Lynn forfeited a game against a team with a transgender athlete. Three players were reportedly injured during the game, and the team was already down four to begin with, according to local media reports.
The MIAA said it has historically complied with federal and state laws and is seeking legal guidance on its next steps. "We are especially interested in determining this investigation's impact on teams currently playing the winter season and on our upcoming tournaments," the association said in a statement.
Lawyers who advise schools on Title IX say the Trump administration is taking an unusually aggressive approach by initiating its own investigations. Bonnie Young, a partner at Fox Rothschild, said such investigations typically aren't publicized until they're concluded.
"The enforcement landscape is changing rapidly with the new Administration and the flurry of executive orders," Young said in an email. "Each day reveals new and bolder enforcement actions to bring public and private entities into compliance with the Administration's objectives."
Title IX has been at the center of a political tug-of-war in recent years. Under former President Joe Biden, new federal rules expanded the law to protect transgender and LGBTQ+ students. A federal judge overturned Biden's rules this year, calling them an overstep.
The Trump administration has been using Title IX to push against schools that provide accommodations for transgender students. Last month the Education Department opened another investigation into Denver public schools after an all-gender restroom replaced a girl's restroom while leaving another exclusive to boys.
In his order, Trump directed federal agencies to "rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities." The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights can move to cut federal money for institutions that violate civil rights, but only if it's approved by a judge and if the office fails to negotiate a resolution.
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