Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines joined a group of college athletes in filing a lawsuit against the NCAA on Thursday. The athletes claim that the NCAA violated their Title IX rights by allowing Lia Thomas to participate in the national championships in 2022.
A lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, recounting the dismay experienced by Gaines and fellow swimmers upon discovering that they would be sharing a locker room with Thomas during the championships. The lawsuit outlines several races in which Thomas and Gaines participated, including the 200-yard final where they both finished in fifth place. However, it was Thomas who received the fifth-place trophy, not Gaines.
Tylor Mathieu, a plaintiff from Florida, narrowly missed out on swimming in the final of the 500 free. Despite finishing ninth in the preliminary heats, she fell one spot short of qualifying. Meanwhile, the final was won by Thomas, who became the first openly transgender athlete to secure a Division I title in any sport. Thomas triumphed over three Olympic medalists to claim the championship. Unfortunately for Mathieu, her exclusion from the final meant that she was denied first-team All-American honors in that event.
The lawsuit also involved athletes from volleyball and track, among others.
The NCAA is being accused in a lawsuit of denying future generations of women their promised rights under Title IX. The plaintiffs are taking legal action to ensure that college women are not deprived of the opportunities guaranteed to them by this legislation.
The NCAA has chosen not to provide any comments regarding the lawsuit.
In 2022, the NCAA revised its policies on transgender athlete participation, taking inspiration from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. The aim was to bring their regulations in line with those of national sports governing bodies.
The NCAA’s revised policy is set to include national and international sports governing body standards in its rules, marking the third phase of the implementation. This new phase is expected to take effect during the 2024-25 school year.
The lawsuit includes the University of Georgia system as a defendant because one of its schools, Georgia Tech, hosted the 2022 championships. Its aim is to prevent the NCAA from implementing transgender eligibility policies that negatively affect female athletes in violation of Title IX during future events held in Georgia.
Representatives from the Georgia schools stated that they have not yet received the lawsuit and therefore cannot provide any comments at this time.
