What is justice?
One Merriam-Webster definition cites justice as “conformity to truth, fact, or reason,” and if we accept that, then justice has — finally — been served in perhaps the original mainstream transgender debacle.
The University of Pennsylvania became a lightning rod for controversy in 2022 when its women’s collegiate swim team deployed Lia Thomas, a man pretending to be a woman.
Thomas shattered the (women’s) record books en route to numerous accolades, all at the expense of actual women who were squeezed out of the podium, so this man could get his ego massaged.
It’s all awful, but if there was one silver lining to emerge from it all, it’s that Thomas’ rise paved the path for former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines to also gain relevance, and for anyone who’s been keeping up with the transgender issue in America, that’s an objectively good thing.
And it was an especially good thing on Tuesday, when the Department of Education announced that the sordid tale of Lia Thomas was finally coming to an ignominious conclusion.
In a landmark announcement, the DOE announced that UPenn was actually repentant for allowing Thomas to gallivant alongside the women and that repentance would take the form of several key decisions.
First, the school must personally apologize to each of the female swimmers who were forced to compete alongside Thomas — a long overdue gesture for anyone who sees the inherent madness of transgenderism.
But perhaps even more importantly than personalized apology letters, UPenn will also be wiping Thomas’ “accomplishments” from the record books.
Yes, “Lia Thomas” has been stricken from the record book, and that’s perhaps even more overdue than those apology letters.
“UPenn will restore to female athletes all individual UPenn Division I swimming records, titles, or similar recognitions which were misappropriated by male athletes allowed to compete in female categories,” the DOE’s announcement stated.
In addition, the school must “issue a public statement to the University community stating that it will comply with Title IX, specifying that UPenn will not allow males to compete in female athletic programs or occupy Penn Athletics female intimate facilities.”
Look, this is all wonderful and painfully overdue, but it would be remiss to not mention two of the women who bravely took a stand against this madness when the DOE was being run by the Biden administration: The aforementioned Gaines and Thomas’ UPenn teammate, Paula Scanlan.
These two women were the first to speak out against this madness and endured untold criticism for daring to speak up for truth and sanity.
It really goes to show you how important it is to speak up for truth — even when it’s horrifically unpopular and damaging to your reputation.
“As a former UPenn swimmer who had to compete against and share a locker room with a male athlete, I am deeply grateful to the Trump Administration for refusing to back down on protecting women and girls and restoring our rightful accolades,” Scanlan said of the DOE decision, per The New York Times. “I am also pleased that my alma mater has finally agreed to take not only the lawful path, but the honorable one.”
She added: “Today marks a momentous step in repairing the past mistreatment of female athletes, and forging a future where sex discrimination plays no role in limiting girls’ potential.”
Gaines, meanwhile, has shown that the biting wit and fierce rhetoric she deployed when she spoke out against Thomas has not dulled with this victory — though even she seemed taken aback.
UPenn has agreed to right its wrongs, restore records to the rightful female athletes, and issue an apology to the women impacted by the man they allowed to compete as a woman.
Are pigs flying?
God bless @realDonaldTrump. pic.twitter.com/PZxcieyp7m
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) July 1, 2025
“UPenn has agreed to right its wrongs, restore records to the rightful female athletes, and issue an apology to the women impacted by the man they allowed to compete as a woman,” Gaines posted after the decision. “Are pigs flying?”
She added: “God bless [President Donald Trump].”
Surprised or not, however, the fierce activist spent part of her Tuesday responding to one notably deranged critic who took issue with UPenn’s decision:
Thank you! And while you’re keeping track, make sure to congratulate Emma Weyant, the right National Champ in the 500 freestyle, too.
(If you’re insinuating 5th in the nation is bad, what do you call a man who ranks 462nd nationally in the men’s category?) https://t.co/liCRPraFQD
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) July 2, 2025
“Wanted to congratulate Whiny Gaines on now being able to say she finished tied for FOURTH not tied for FIFTH in the Lia Thomas race,” far-left pundit Keith Olbermann posted to X shortly after the DOE announcement.
Gaines responded: “Thank you! And while you’re keeping track, make sure to congratulate Emma Weyant, the right National Champ in the 500 freestyle, too.”
Without skipping a beat, Gaines added a little barb at Thomas — an exceptionally average male swimmer by any metric: “(If you’re insinuating 5th in the nation is bad, what do you call a man who ranks 462nd nationally in the men’s category?)”
This writer has no clue what “you call a man who ranks 462nd nationally in the men’s category” but might I suggest: Gone from the record books?
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