Judge dismisses Title IX lawsuit against NCAA over transgender athlete policy

Gaines-led plaintiffs announce appeal

Federal Judge Tiffany Johnson on Tuesday dismissed a 2024 Title IX lawsuit that a group of current and former college athletes had filed against the NCAA over its policy permitting transgender women to compete in women’s sports. Johnson ruled the NCAA is not covered by Title IX because the organization has not received financial assistance from the federal government. Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who led the plaintiffs, said she would appeal the decision.

The ruling closes the specific Title IX avenue the plaintiffs pursued, but the NCAA policy they challenged was already rescinded in 2025, and transgender swimmer Lia Thomas was separately barred from competing at the Paris Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed her challenge to bans on transgender athletes in women’s events.

The lawsuit, filed in 2024, alleged the NCAA had violated the athletes’ rights by allowing transgender women to compete in women’s collegiate sports. The complaint centered on the 2022 Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Atlanta, where Thomas, a transgender female swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania, won one race. The plaintiffs alleged Thomas’s presence put them at a competitive disadvantage, displaced them from championship finals, and violated their privacy. Gaines had previously competed against Thomas.

In her ruling, Johnson concluded the NCAA falls outside Title IX because the organization has not received federal financial assistance. The plaintiffs had argued that a concussion research partnership between the NCAA and the Department of Defense established a federal funding connection; Johnson rejected that argument.

The NCAA rescinded its policy permitting transgender women to compete on women’s sports teams in 2025, one day after President Donald Trump signed a February 2025 executive order banning the practice. The U.S. Education Department under Trump has urged the NCAA to erase records set by transgender athletes.

Thomas was also not allowed to compete for a spot on the U.S. women’s swimming team at the Paris Olympics. The Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Switzerland, dismissed her challenge to bans on transgender athletes in women’s events.