Riley Gaines, a previous Kentucky swimmer, was one of the more than a few college athletes who filed a complaint against the NCAA on Thursday, alleging that it violated their Title IX right by allowing transgender girl Lia Thomas to thrive at the 2022 national championships.
The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, information how shocked Morris and another athletes learned they would have to promote a locker room with Thomas at the finals in Atlanta. It documents a number of races they swam in with Thomas, including the 200- yard last in which Thomas and Gaines tied for second but Thomas, no Gaines, was handed the five- spot trophy.
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Thomas swam for Pennsylvania. She competed for the men’s staff at Penn before her gender change.
Another claimant, Tylor Mathieu of Florida, placed eighth in the initial heat of the 500-meter freestyle, which eliminated her from the last that Thomas would eventually win. Thomas was the first openly transgender athlete to capture a Division I name in any sport, coming in front of three Olympian finalists for the tournament. Mathieu was denied first-team All-American honours in that event because he did not make the last.
Another plaintiffs included record and volleyball athletes.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants “bring this circumstance to secure for upcoming generations of women the promise of Title IX that the NCAA has denied them and another college people.”
The NCAA and its members continue to promote Title IX, make extraordinary investments in women’s sports, and ensure fair contest in all NCAA championships, the NCAA said in a speech.” College sports are the top stage for women’s sports in America,” the NCAA said in a statement.
Although extensive research is also frequently lacking on wealthy athletics and practically nonexistent when determining whether a junior transgender woman has a distinct advantage over her cisgender opponents or teammates, critics claim that transgender athletes have an advantage over cisgender women in competition.
In an effort to align with national sports governing bodies, the NCAA revised its policies on transgender athlete participation in 2022 in line with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s lead.
The NCAA’s rules are updated with national and international sports governing body standards in the third phase of the revised policy, which is scheduled to go into effect for the 2024-25 school year.
The lawsuit also lists the University of Georgia system as a defendant because one of its schools, Georgia Tech, hosted the 2022 championships. The lawsuit argues that the NCAA’s transgender eligibility guidelines” which adversely impact female athletes in violation of Title IX” should be used at upcoming events being held in Georgia.
Representatives from the Georgian schools said they would not comment on the lawsuit because they had not been served with it.
