Female Athletes Sue NCAA to Save Women’s Sports
16 female athletes, including Riley Gaines, are represented in the suit funded by ICONS
Sixteen female athletes are suing the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in a class action sex discrimination lawsuit alleging violations of Title IX, which guarantees equal opportunity for men and women in education (including student athletics). The majority of the plaintiffs are swimmers who were forced to compete against and share intimate facilities with men such as Lia Thomas. The lawsuit’s sex discrimination claims include violations of the Fourteenth Amendment’s right to equal protection, and violations of the right to bodily privacy.
The brave plaintiffs speaking out:
The plaintiffs include 16 female athletes, most of whom are still involved with the NCAA. They are: Riley Gaines (Swimming, University of Kentucky); Reka Gyorgy (Swimming, Virginia Tech); Kylee Alons (Swimming, North Carolina State); Kaitlynn Wheeler (Swimming, University of Kentucky); Ainsley Erzen (Soccer, Track, University of Arkansas); Ellie Eades (Tennis, University of Kentucky); six Roanoke College swimmers: Lily Mullens, Kate Pearson, Susanna Price, Carter Satterfield, Katie Blankenship, and Julianna Morrow. Four additional plaintiffs representing swimming, track, and volleyball must remain anonymous due to the risk of “retaliation and reprisal.”
The lawsuit is financially supported by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS). WoLF is proud to be a partner of ICONS and supports their important work to protect female athletes.
About Title IX
Since Congress first passed Title IX in 1972, it has allowed (and in some cases required) female-only student athletic opportunities and single-sex bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, and overnight accommodations. Title IX has always sought to ensure that women and girls have safe, equal access to educational opportunities. Single-sex spaces and student athletics are critical for safety, dignity, and fairness, especially for women and girls seeking to avoid or heal from male violence.
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
— Title IX Education Amendments of 1972
There have been multiple attempts by the Biden administration, there have been multiple attempts to undermine Title IX by interpreting “sex” as meaning “gender identity.” These attacks have ranged from executive orders to unlawful agency “guidance” to not-yet-final regulations.
Read more about WoLF’s efforts to counteract these proposed changes to Title IX.
In 2023, WoLF joined a diverse coalition in support of a legal demand letter sent by ICONS to the NCAA demanding the organization immediately restore women’s sports.
The policies pushed by the NCAA which are being challenged in this lawsuit are not only unconstitutional but wildly unpopular. WoLF’s polling has repeatedly shown that the majority of American voters support keeping men and boys out of women’s sports.
Loss of Athletic Opportunity
Lia Thomas began swimming for the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s swim team in 2021. Immediately upon entering the scene, he ranked first place — beating the most accomplished swimmers in the league, including Riley Gaines. He previously competed as “Will Thomas” on the U Penn men’s team, where he was an unaccomplished swimmer.
Despite being male, the NCAA allowed him to continue to compete as a woman, depriving female student-athletes of opportunity.
Thomas’s placement in the 2022 500 free swim event prevented Reka Gyorgy, an Olympian swimmer, from advancing to the Consolation Final - the last one of her career.
In that final, Thomas “trounced” decorated female Olympians (Complaint pg. 114).
In the 200-yard Freestyle swim, Riley Gaines tied with Thomas for fifth place.
“Riley was told that there was only a single Fifth Place trophy, and the NCAA had decided Riley would not be permitted to hold the trophy on the podium. Instead, only Thomas would be allowed to hold the Fifth place trophy.” (Complaint pg. 117)
When Riley pushed back against this, an NCAA official replied, “I’m so sorry, we have been advised that when photos are taken it is crucial that Lia Thomas holds the trophy.” (Complaint pg. 177)
Multiple other women were also harmed and booted down in rankings by the NCAA’s allowance of a male competitor.
The members of the Roanoke Women’s swim team also suffered harm when they refused to comply with rules that would force them to swim with men. Plaintiffs in other sports such as Track and Field, Soccer, Tennis, and Volleyball all share similar concerns.
Violations of Right to Bodily Privacy
The female swimmers, including Riley Gaines, were forced to share a locker room with Thomas — where he exposed himself fully nude to the room full of women who were in the process of getting dressed. The NCAA never warned the swimmers this would be happening and did not provide them an opportunity to change in private.
“Thomas, who is approximately six feet four inches tall and possessed full male genitalia, had complete and unrestricted access to the women’s locker rooms, showers, and restrooms … when Thomas walked in on them while they were fully naked or in a state of substantial undress, revealing their bodies and private parts to Thomas and subjecting them to distress, shame, humiliation and embarrassment” (Complaint pg. 97 - 98)
Kylee Alons stated that she started changing in a storage closet because it felt like that was a safer place than the locker room.
Kaitlynn Wheeler, another plaintiff in the lawsuit, described it as “a traumatic moment that has driven her to speak up for other women as she hopes her sisters, her nieces, and other women never have to go through such a degrading experience where bodily privacy is violated without consent.” (Complaint pg. 103)
The lawsuit alleges that the NCAA preyed on the vulnerabilities of young women to pressure them into compliance with these daily violations of their rights. (Complaint pg. 105)
What’s Next?
The case was filed on March 14, 2024, in U.S. District Court - Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.
ICONS is a valued partner of WoLF, and we look forward to continuing to champion their efforts to save women’s sports. We’ll be closely watching the case and are ready to take action to lend our voice when the time comes.