Paula Scanlan, a former University of Pennsylvania swimmer, told Newsmax on Wednesday that she lauded the Trump administration for forcing her alma mater to strip transgender champion and her former teammate Lia Thomas of his titles and apologizing to every biological female for the school's Title IX violations.
Scanlan told "National Report" that she appreciates "the Trump administration being so hard on this issue and holding them accountable. I think this is a wonderful first step. I would love to see other universities come and also apologize to their athletes and also be potentially sued over their Title IX violations."
Scanlan emphasized that "the fact that this is even happening, I am very grateful for it. Because if Trump was not president, we would not be having any of this. If Trump was not president, probably Kamala Harris would have invited Thomas to the White House for Women's History Month and given him an award."
Scanlan was also asked about the Department of Justice suing California over its violations of Title IX, the 1972 law which bans sex-based discrimination in activities that receive federal funding. The suit could potentially cost California up to $40 billion in federal funds.
She said that "the only reason that the University of Pennsylvania even came and apologized to us is because the Trump administration pulled funds."
Scanlan insisted that it makes sense to "pull the funds from California, pull the funds from any university that's violating these rights. Money talks, and I think that's a great way to get people to do what they need to do. It's so sad it takes that. But if that is how we get it done, I say power to them."
She added that "I'm so grateful to [Education] Secretary Linda McMahon for being such a great leader on this subject. I can't even express how grateful I am to her personally for all that she had done for women in this country."
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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