NCAA transgender athlete lawsuit tossed by judge: What to know

( NewsNation ) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association concerning its former policy on transgender athletes’ eligibility in women’s college sports.

Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines and over a dozen current and former college athletes sued the NCAA in 2024 after transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas competed at the 2022 national championships hosted by Georgia Tech .

The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleging the association’s policies violated their Title IX rights. The ruling could have implications for other cases, including a similar lawsuit by three University of Pennsylvania swimmers.

Why did Gaines, other athletes sue the NCAA?

Title IX is the federal law that “prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance,” according to the Education Department . In her ruling, Judge Tiffany R. Johnson held that the NCAA isn’t subject to Title IX protections because the organization doesn’t receive federal funding.

The plaintiffs specifically referenced the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, where Thomas placed first in the 500-yard freestyle and used the women’s locker rooms. Up until 2025, the NCAA “allowed transgender women to compete on sports teams and use facilities that align with their gender identity,” according to Politico .

The sports association changed its participation policy in February of that year, limiting competition in women’s sports to athletes assigned female at birth, The Associated Press reported. The move came one day after President Trump signed an executive order to ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports.

How did Gaines, the NCAA respond to the ruling?

Gaines announced on social media after the ruling that she intends to appeal the court’s decision and that the “goal from the beginning was to get this case before the Supreme Court.”

“This momentary setback will not deter me or other women athletes in the least,” she said in a statement obtained by Politico. “We are on the side of truth. I am confident Americans will rally to our side to fight the NCAA.”

In a statement to the outlet after the court’s ruling, NCAA spokesperson Meghan Wright said the organization “is proud to continually invest in and expand women’s sports and the NCAA is in full compliance with the Trump administration’s executive order on women’s sports.”

Could the ruling impact the UPenn swimmers’ case?

The Daily Pennsylvanian reported the Georgia court’s ruling “has significant ramifications for a similar lawsuit” filed in February 2025 by three former UPenn swimmers against Penn, Harvard University, the Ivy League and the NCAA.

The plaintiffs alleged that Thomas’s participation in the 2022 women’s Ivy League championship hosted by Harvard prevented them from having “equal opportunities as women to compete and win while being denied the opportunity to protect their privacy in separate and equal locker rooms,” according to the outlet.

In July 2025, a federal court dismissed Harvard and the Ivy League from the case, The Daily Pennsylvanian previously reported. Massachusetts federal district Judge William Young also notably issued a stay on proceedings against the remaining defendants pending the outcome of Gaines’ lawsuit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.