On Thursday, a group of female athletes filed a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) over its policy of allowing biological men who believe they are women to compete against real women and use women’s locker room facilities.
As reported by the Daily Caller, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of over a dozen athletes by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS). The suit alleges that the NCAA is in violation of Title IX’s guarantee of equal opportunity for men and women in college-level sports. If the lawsuit is successful, it would ban men from competing against women in women’s sports and revoke any awards or trophies given to so-called “transgender” athletes.
“We’re not just fighting for ourselves, we’re fighting for every young girl who dreams of competing in sports,” said Riley Gaines, an outspoken anti-transgender activist and former NCAA athlete, in the press release announcing the lawsuit. “I’m thankful for ICONS’ commitment to our cause, especially their financial commitment, allowing us to take this to court. I urge anyone who cares about protecting women’s sport to help get behind us.”
One of the examples highlighted by the lawsuit is the case of Will “Lia” Thomas, a male swimmer who started identifying as female so he could compete in women’s sports and have a better chance at scoring higher than he did among men. The lawsuit asserts that the NCAA’s decision to let Thomas compete was based on an “illegal premise” that “testosterone suppression and personal choice alone can make a male eligible to compete on a women’s sports team.”
As it currently stands, the NCAA’s rules allow “men to compete on women’s teams with a testosterone level that is five times higher than the highest recorded testosterone level for elite female athletes,” the lawsuit further notes.
The increasing backlash against transgender participation in gendered sports has led to a number of bans by international sports organizations. In the year 2023, the governing bodies for international cricket, track and field, and swimming all banned biological males from competing against women.