The lawsuit involving Riley Gaines and the NCAA made significant progress on Thursday when U.S. District Judge Tiffany Johnson partially denied the NCAA’s motion to dismiss the case.
The suit is made up of current and former female college athletes affected by policies allowing biological male transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports, and they are seeking to hold the NCAA accountable for those policies.
Gaines, along with other former NCAA swimmers, has recounted their experiences, including sharing locker rooms with former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas.
Additional plaintiffs include Brooke Slisser, a former captain of the San Jose State volleyball team, who mentioned her experiences with transgender teammate Blair Fleming, and Caroline Hill from the Rochester Institute of Technology, who talked about her encounters with a former trans athlete.
Judge Johnson noted that the case falls under Title IX due to claims that the NCAA receives federal financial assistance. However, she also pointed out that the plaintiffs did not adequately prove that the NCAA is a national actor or demonstrate a violation of their right to physical privacy.
The lawsuit was initiated last March, following the notable NCAA Women’s Swimming Championships two years prior when multiple female swimmers were in a locker room with Thomas. The University of Georgia System and Georgia Tech, which hosted the 2022 championships, were named as defendants, but Johnson granted the universities’ motion to dismiss.
Bill Bock, an attorney for Gaines and the Independent Women’s Sports Council, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, indicating it allows the case to proceed against the NCAA. He emphasized that this decision is a crucial step for the plaintiffs and that they look forward to the discovery phase to establish the NCAA’s liability under Title IX.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the NCAA for a response.
