Former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines and 15 other female athletes have launched a lawsuit against the NCAA over its transgender policies.
“I’m suing the NCAA along with 15 other collegiate athletes who have lost out on titles, records, & roster spots to men posing as women,” Gaines wrote on X. “The NCAA continues to explicitly violate the federal civil rights law of Title IX. About time someone did something about it.”
The lawsuit, first reported by The Free Press, stems from the victory of transgender, biological male Lia Thomas, who won the 2022 NCAA Swimming Championship.
According to the suit, both the NCAA and Georgia Tech violated Title IX. It also calls for the NCAA to remove awards given to transgender athletes in women’s competitions.
The suit also asks for damages “for pain and suffering, mental and emotional distress, suffering and anxiety, expense costs and other damages due to defendants’ wrongful conduct.”
The lawsuit accuses the NCAA of “destroying female safe spaces in women’s locker rooms by authorizing naked men possessing full male genitalia to disrobe in front of non-consenting college women.”
One plaintiff, Kaitlyn Wheeler, said that she and her teammates were forced to change into their swimsuits in front of Thomas.
“While you’re doing this, you’re exposed,” Wheeler said. “You can’t stand there and hold a towel around you while putting the suit on at the same time.”
“Never in my 18-year career had I seen a man changing in the locker rooms. I immediately felt the need to cover myself,” she added.
