Former members of the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) women’s swimming team recently filed a lawsuit against the institution, Harvard University, the NCAA, and others for allowing Lia Thomas, a male who identifies as female, to compete against women.
The lawsuit was filed by Grace Estabrook, Margot Kaczorowski, and Ellen Holmquist, who have each graduated from UPenn and competed alongside Thomas during the 2021–2022 season, as reported by The Daily Pennsylvanian. The former swimmers hope to have Thomas’ records vacated as a result of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit requests “damages for pain and suffering, mental and emotional distress, suffering and anxiety, expenses costs and other damages against the NCAA, Ivy League, Harvard, and UPenn due to their wrongful conduct.”
Plaintiff Attorney Bill Bock stated, “the Ivy League believed that if America’s oldest and most storied educational institutions led the way, Americans would suppress common sense and submit to radical policies that steal young women’s cherished sports opportunities and obliterate biological reality,” as reported by The Harvard Crimson.
“This lawsuit exposes the behind the scenes scheming that led to the attempt by Harvard University, UPenn, the Ivy League and the NCAA, to impose radical gender ideology on the American college sports landscape,” Bock continued.
Harvard was listed in the lawsuit due to its involvement as the host of the 2022 Ivy League championships, during which Thomas broke multiple conference records.
In a statement to Campus Reform, an NCAA spokesperson said that the organization remains committed to upholding the protections of Title IX, which the plaintiffs have said the organization has violated.
“College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America, and while the NCAA does not comment on pending litigation, the Association and its members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition in all NCAA championships,” the statement reads.
Title IX, originally enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, bars sex-based discrimination from any institution that receives federal funding.
Among the alleged damages surrounding competing alongside Thomas is that female swimmers had to share a locker room with him.
Former North Carolina State University swimmer Kylee Alons has described her experience sharing a locker room with Thomas.
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”We all were just guinea pigs for a giant social experiment formed by the NCAA regarding how much abuse and blatant disregard women would be forced to take in silence,” Alons said, according to Fox News.
“I go to the locker room that day only to see Thomas and realize there is no escape from this nightmare, no matter where I go,” Alons added. “I had no idea he was going to be allowed in the women’s locker room as we did not consent to have a man in our locker room.”
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
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