Swimmers, volleyball players sue over NCAA transgender policies

Dozens of college swimmers and volleyball players are suing the NCAA over its transgender policies, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday. 

The lawsuit alleges the athletes’ rights granted from the Title IX gender equity law were violated when transgender woman Lia Thomas was allowed in the 2022 national championships.  

Thomas was on the men’s swim team at the University of Pennsylvania before transitioning. After her transition and switching to the women’s team, Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win a Division I title.  

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Georgia, lists the races Thomas won over other women in the NCAA, and details the discomfort swimmers like Riley Gaines, who gained popularity after speaking out against Thomas’s participation in the events, felt when sharing a locker room with Thomas.  

“The NCAA did not protect me or my fellow swimmers or even warn us of what to expect. My privacy and safety were being violated in the locker room,” said Kylee Alons, a 31-time All-American swimmer who competed against Thomas. 

“Even if Thomas wasn’t in there, I felt I had to have some sort of privacy,” added Alons, an ambassador for Young Women for America, a college political organization. 

The lawsuit also targets the Georgia Tech, which hosted the 2022 national championship. Similar situations were included in the lawsuit for women athletes who competed in volleyball. 

The group aims for transgender athletes to no longer be allowed to compete on teams that don’t match their biological sex and for the awards transgender athletes have received to be given to other competitors.

While opponents of transgender athletes on teams that don’t match their biological sex argue it is unfair and can make women uncomfortable, LGBTQ activists have fired back that it is discriminatory to exclude them and say there are no clear advantages for transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.  

“College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America, and while the NCAA does not comment on pending litigation, the Association and its members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition in all NCAA championships,” the NCAA said in a statement.