UPenn Slammed Over Title IX Violation After Lia Thomas Controversy: Former Teammates Demand Action

The University of Pennsylvania is under fire after the U.S. Department of Education determined it violated Title IX by allowing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete on its women’s swim team. This move has reignited a fierce debate about fairness in women’s sports and the rights of athletes, and a couple of Thomas’ former teammates are not holding back their feelings on the matter.

Paula Scanlan, one of the earliest voices to publicly oppose UPenn’s handling of the situation, said she felt a mix of excitement and skepticism over the federal government’s decision. According to Scanlan, the school has had plenty of time to fix things and apologize to the affected female athletes, but she’s not holding her breath for a meaningful response now. It’s like waiting for a university president to answer your email—don’t bet on it.

Grace Estabrook, another former UPenn swimmer, echoed Scanlan’s gratitude for the administration’s action but called for even stronger measures. She wants real accountability for those who, in her words, "stood by while male athletes deprived us female athletes of our opportunities and violated our rights in our locker room." Estabrook emphasized that the government’s finding is only a first step and is pushing for a policy that would fully separate men from women’s sports and spaces. That’s a pretty clear line in the sand.

Estabrook didn’t pull punches about her experience, describing it as "emotional and sexual harassment" endured by her and her teammates. She slammed the current policies of UPenn and the NCAA as "inept" and said that she and others suing the university, the Ivy League, and the NCAA, won’t be satisfied with half-measures.

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has given UPenn ten days to comply with Title IX or face a potential criminal referral to the Justice Department. The university is required to make a public pledge to follow Title IX, restore female athletes’ records and honors that were "misappropriated," and send written apologies to the athletes affected. That’s a lot of letters to write—and probably not the kind of mail the administration was hoping for this spring.

Meanwhile, UPenn faces a lawsuit from Estabrook and two other former teammates, Margot Kaczorowski and Ellen Holmquist, who also name the Ivy League and NCAA as defendants. They’re seeking to have all of Thomas’ accolades in the women’s category rescinded, claiming their athletic and educational experiences were marred by the controversy.