Sixteen female current and former athletes from across the country last week filed a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing males to compete in girls’ and women’s sports and to use locker rooms designated for females.
Filed March 14 in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, the lawsuit aims to disqualify biological males from competing against female athletes going forward. It also calls for requiring the NCAA to strip transgender athletes of any awards given to them in girls’ and women’s competitions and award them instead to their female rivals.
Riley Gaines—formerly a swimmer for the University of Kentucky—is one of the 16 women pressing the lawsuit. She is best-known for tying for fifth place with University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in the 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship in 2022.
Along with eight other swimmers, Gaines holds the NCAA responsible for “destroying female safe spaces” by permitting transgenders access to women’s locker rooms without their consent.
Other plaintiffs include:
- Kylee Alons, former North Carolina State swimmer
- Katie Blankenship, Roanoke College swimmer
- Réka György, Virginia Tech swimmer
- Julianna Morrow, Roanoke College swimmer
- Lily Mullens, Roanoke College swimmer
- Kate Pearson, Roanoke College swimmer
- Carter Satterfield, Roanoke College swimmer
- Kaitlynn Wheeler, University of Kentucky swimmer
- Ainsley Erzen, University of Arkansas runner
- Ellie Eades, University of Kentucky tennis player
- Susanna Price, Roanoke College runner and swimmer
Four other female athletes are co-plaintiffs under pseudonyms to protect themselves from retaliation and reprisal. They represent swimming, track, and volleyball.
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