A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by former college swimmer Riley Gaines against the NCAA over its transgender athlete policies, ruling that the collegiate governing body is not subject to Title IX because it does not directly receive federal funding.
U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson of the Northern District of Georgia issued the dismissal Monday, according to the Daily Mail. The ruling centered on the scope of Title IX, the federal law barring sex-based discrimination in education programs that receive federal financial assistance.
The judge rejected the argument that the NCAA should be covered because its member schools receive federal education dollars and are themselves subject to Title IX. “Here, there is no evidence that the NCAA ever received, or could have received, federal funds,” Johnson wrote. “Thus, Plaintiffs’ Title IX claims cannot proceed.”
The Case Behind the Ruling
Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, brought the suit based on her experience at the 2022 NCAA Division I swimming championships, where she competed against and tied for fifth place with University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, a transgender woman. The lawsuit alleged that the NCAA violated the rights of female athletes by allowing biological males into women’s locker rooms and into competitions against them.
The case was co-sponsored by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS), an advocacy group that has pushed back on transgender inclusion in female athletics. Following the dismissal, the group argued that the district judge’s reasoning was mistaken and predicted an appeals court would see it differently.
“We believe the district judge erred and that the Court of Appeals will find that the NCAA, which is the controlling body of college sports for more than 1,100 member schools, almost all of which are federally funded, is subject to Title IX,” said ICONS co-founder Kim Jones, a former NCAA All-American tennis player. “We will not give up our fight for women and girls’ rights in sports.”
Gaines Pledges to Appeal
Gaines responded to the ruling with a defiant statement, saying the decision would not end her effort to hold the NCAA accountable and confirming she intends to pursue an appeal.
“This momentary setback will not deter me or other women athletes in the least,” Gaines said Monday. “Rest assured, we will be appealing this decision. We are on the side of truth. I am confident Americans will rally to our side to fight the NCAA. Working together, we will defeat the NCAA’s continuing efforts to trample women’s rights in sports.”
ICONS co-founder Marshi Smith also weighed in, arguing that the NCAA’s position in the case raises broader questions about its role as a regulator of college athletics.
“The NCAA’s refusal to recognize its responsibility to uphold women’s rights means the NCAA cannot be trusted to regulate anyone’s sports β men’s or women’s,” Smith said.
A Broader Legal Fight
The dismissal is the latest turn in a wider legal and political battle over the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports, an issue that has drawn attention from state legislatures, Congress, and the courts in recent years. The central question in Gaines’ suit β whether the NCAA can be held liable under Title IX despite its organizational structure β now appears headed to a higher court, where the scope of the law’s application to governing bodies rather than individual schools could be tested.
Judge Johnson’s ruling did not address the underlying factual claims about competitive fairness or locker room access. It turned instead on a jurisdictional question: whether the NCAA, as a private association distinct from its federally funded member institutions, falls within Title IX’s reach. Her conclusion that it does not means the plaintiffs cannot proceed on those claims in her courtroom, though the appeals process could revive them.
For now, the NCAA has prevailed at the district level, but Gaines and ICONS have made clear they view the fight as ongoing. The case joins a growing set of disputes in which courts are being asked to define how far federal anti-discrimination law extends into the governance of college sports, and whether the association that oversees them can be held to the same standards as the schools it regulates.
Source: www.breitbart.com β https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2026/09/29/biden-judge-dismisses-riley-gaines-transgender-athlete-lawsuit-against-ncaa/