Concerned Women for America has gone right to the federal government to claim the University of Pennsylvania is violating its Title IX statute by allowing male athletes to compete against female athletes, including Lia Thomas, a man who “identifies” as a woman and recently won a 2022 NCAA Women’s Swimming Championship.
“A great injustice is being committed against women student-athletes at UPenn and beyond in direct violation of federal law,” CWFA Press Secretary Katie Everett told Campus Reform.
“The violations are compounded in that colleges and universities are allowing a hostile environment to fester which threatens female athletes’ entire college careers and even future earning opportunities if they dare to speak out against these unfair policies,” Everett said.
The statute protects women from facing discrimination at educational institutions that get federal funds. CWFA charges that Thomas’ inclusion on the women’s swim team discriminated against women by making the competition unfair.
“The future of women’s sports is at risk and the equal rights of female athletes are being infringed,” Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America, said in a statement when the complaint was filed. “We filed a formal civil rights complaint against UPenn in response to this injustice.
“Any school that defies federal civil rights law by denying women equal opportunities in athletic programs, forcing women to compete against athletes who are biologically male must be held accountable,” Nance said.
The complaint said, in part:
Thomas is anatomically and biologically a male with physical capacities that are different from anatomically and biologically female athletes, which extends an unfair advantage and strips female student-athletes of opportunities afforded to them by law. The complaint also cites reports that Thomas’ own teammates have complained about UPenn allowing a hostile environment to fester in its locker room which has put them in apprehension.
Thomas was previously ranked #462 when competing in the men’s division.
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