College swimmers and volleyball players sue NCAA over transgender policies
Riley Gaines was among the college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing it of violating Title IX rights by allowing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete.
ATLANTA — Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among more than a dozen college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on Thursday, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing transgender woman Lia Thomas to compete at the national championships in 2022.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, details the shock Gaines and other swimmers felt when they learned they would have to share a locker room with Thomas at the championships in Atlanta. It documents a number of races they swam in with Thomas, including the 200-yard final in which Thomas and Gaines tied for fifth but Thomas, not Gaines, was handed the fifth-place trophy.
Thomas swam for Pennsylvania. She competed for the men’s team at Penn before her gender transition.
Another plaintiff, Tylor Mathieu of Florida, finished ninth in the preliminary heats of the 500 free, which left her one spot from swimming in the final that Thomas would go on to win. Thomas was the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I title in any sport, finishing in front of three Olympic medalists for the championship. By not making the final, Mathieu was denied first-team All-American honors in that event.
Other plaintiffs included athletes from volleyball and track.
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