WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is investigating potential civil rights violations at San Jose State University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) that allowed transgender athletes to compete on women’s teams, the Education Department said Thursday.
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association allowed a transgender athlete from KIPP Academy in Lynn to compete on a girls’ high school basketball team, prompting an opposing team to forfeit after three players were reportedly injured.
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 association.
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 association invoked that policy last year after a girls’ basketball team in Lynn forfeited a game against a team, KIPP Academy, 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.
It comes a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. The order calls for penalties against schools and leagues, saying competing against transgender athletes deprives female students of equality.
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 Lia Thomas, who swam on the school’s women’s team and was the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I title in 2022. Thomas graduated that year. Penn did not immediately provide comment.
