Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced on August 25, 2025, that his Office of Civil Rights found reasonable cause that Roanoke College violated both the Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA) and Title IX. The violations stem from sex-based discrimination and retaliation against female athletes when the college allowed a post‑pubescent biological male to train with the women’s swim team in August 2023. The female swimmers are now eligible to seek compensatory and punitive damages as well as injunctive relief.
The investigation revealed that the female swimmers unanimously objected, citing unfair competition due to physical advantages. Their protests, submitted through letters and meetings with athletic administrators, were ignored. The male swimmer “dominated the female swimmers’ race times” and “skipped practices,” advantages not afforded to others on the team.
When the women spoke publicly about these concerns, Roanoke College allegedly retaliated by denying several female swimmers, including team captains with GPAs above 3.7, the opportunity to participate in May Term travel courses—the college’s signature study-abroad program.
The official final determination by the Attorney General’s Office outlined multiple legal conclusions:
- Reasonable cause that Roanoke College violated the VHRA by denying female swimmers equal accommodations, advantages, and privileges—including emotional, physical, and dignitary harm.
- Reasonable cause of retaliation by denying May Term travel courses to female swimmers for their protected speech.
- No reasonable cause was found for:
- Denial of actual participation in competitions.
- A hostile environment claim, as Roanoke took steps to address ensuing harassment.
Roanoke College strongly denies all allegations. The school states it lacked an institutional policy to address transgender participation in 2023 and, relying on NCAA guidance (which it described as “confusing”), ultimately ruled the transgender athlete ineligible to compete after adopting a more stringent policy. The college maintains that the athlete never competed on the women’s team. It also asserts the May Term application denials followed normal procedures, not punishment or retaliation.
At least one family application involved, suggesting that the college “acted swiftly but deliberatively … within six weeks” to define its policy, and that the NCAA had allowed participation at that time.
Governor Glenn Youngkin, along with state Republicans, publicly supported Miyares’s findings, stressing moral and legal clarity that male athletes should not compete in women’s sports.
