The Education Department said Friday that Wagner College will apologize to any female fencers as well as any athlete who had to compete against a trans woman in the Wagner athletics program.

The agreement comes after a cisgender female athlete declined to compete against a trans woman on the Wagner fencing team at USA Fencing competition hosted at the University of Maryland. The female fencer, a 31-year-old who took a knee, was disqualified from the match. 

The Wagner sophomore, Red Sullivan, competed on the men’s fencing team in her freshman year and then fenced on the women’s team this academic year after becoming medically eligible in fall 2024, Rolling Stone reported. Other media outlets have since reported that Sullivan has transferred from Wagner.

The Wagner agreement is similar to the one the Education Department reached with the University of Pennsylvania after finding the university in violation of Title IX for allowing a trans woman to compete on the women’s swim team three years ago. 

“Wagner has agreed to apologize for putting a male on their female fencing team and will revise its policies to comply with Title IX,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “Because of President Trump’s leadership, the tide is turning on our nation’s campuses. We commend Wagner College for working with the Department to repair its harm to female athletes and ensuring future generations of women and girls have equal opportunities.”

Under the agreement, Wagner, a private college on Staten Island in New York, will publicly state that trans women can’t compete on women’s sports teams. The university also determined that no trans woman received any athletic records and recognitions while competing in women’s athletics.