Four of the plaintiffs suing the NCAA called for the athletic association to revise its transgender policies, saying the eligibility rules foster unfair competition.
The women, including two swimmers who competed in the 2022 NCAA championships held at Georgia Tech, spoke at a news conference Friday in Athens about the lawsuit they filed in federal court last week. They are among more than a dozen current and former college athletes suing the NCAA and the University System of Georgia. The complaint alleges that their Title IX rights were violated when Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who swam for the University of Pennsylvania, was allowed to compete in the championships held in Atlanta, where she won the 500-yard freestyle.
Thomas previously swam for Penn’s men’s team before a gender transition.
“It is the NCAA’s job to protect the fairness and safety of its athletes and to uphold Title IX. However, over the past two years, we’ve witnessed repeated and egregious lapses in these responsibilities,” said Kaitlynn Wheeler, who swam for the University of Kentucky and competed at the championship meet.
Wheeler spoke at the news conference organized by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, or ICONS. The Nevada-based advocacy group is raising money to pay for the court battle and posted a 24-minute recording from the Athens news conference on its YouTube channel.
The news conference took place as UGA is hosting the NCAA Division I women’s swimming and diving championships, which run through Saturday.
The lawsuit alleges that the NCAA’s transgender rules “deprive women of equal opportunity in comparison to men in college sports” and details the “distress, shame, humiliation and embarrassment” the plaintiffs felt while sharing a locker room with Thomas.
In a statement, the NCAA said: “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 suit also names as defendants the individual members of the Georgia Board of Regents, Georgia Tech and its president, Ángel Cabrera, the University of Georgia and the University of North Georgia.
It asks the court to bar the three Georgia public universities from “implementing any aspects” of NCAA transgender eligibility policies that violate Title IX in future competitions they host. The three schools are scheduled to host various swimming, diving, rowing and tennis championships over the next two years, according to the complaint.
Spokesmen for UGA and Georgia Tech referred comment to the University System of Georgia, which declined to comment on the pending litigation.
About the Author
