Riley Gaines vows appeal after judge rejects NCAA lawsuit over men in women’s sports

Riley Gaines and other female college athletes plan to appeal a federal judge’s ruling rejecting their Title IX claims against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) over policies that allowed males to compete in women’s sports and use women’s locker rooms. 

U.S. District Judge Tiffany Johnson of the Northern District of Georgia granted the NCAA’s request for summary judgment Sept. 28 and directed the clerk to close the case. The ruling resolved the remaining Title IX claims without a trial. 

Johnson concluded that the evidence did not establish the NCAA as a recipient of federal financial assistance, a threshold requirement for Title IX liability. 

“Here, there is no evidence that the NCAA ever received, or could have received, federal funds. Thus, Plaintiffs’ Title IX claims cannot proceed,” she wrote.

The Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS), which funded the lawsuit, announced the planned appeal in a Sept. 29 press release. The group said the athletes would seek review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

“This momentary setback will not deter me or other women athletes in the least. Rest assured, we will be appealing this decision,” Gaines said in the release. “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 Kim Jones, a former NCAA All-American tennis player, said the group believes Johnson wrongly concluded that the NCAA was outside the law’s reach.

“We will not give up our fight for women and girls’ rights in sports,” Jones said in the release.

Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, and more than a dozen other female athletes filed the lawsuit in March 2024, alleging that the NCAA violated their Title IX rights through its “transgender” eligibility policies. The case centered on events including the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships at Georgia Tech, where Gaines tied for fifth in the 200-yard freestyle with University of Pennsylvania swimmer William (Lia) Thomas, a male athlete who calls himself a woman.

The NCAA changed its participation policy in February 2025 to bar male athletes from competing in women’s sports following President Donald Trump’s executive order on the issue. The policy still allows male athletes to practice with women’s teams.

According to the release, the plaintiffs have 30 days to file a notice of appeal, the first step toward seeking a review of Johnson’s ruling. 

“The NCAA thinks it can use its vast financial resources to avoid responsibility to protect women’s opportunities in college sports. We won’t let the NCAA get away with it,” ICONS co-founder Marshi Smith said in the release. “The NCAA’s refusal to recognize its responsibility to uphold women’s rights means the NCAA cannot be trusted to regulate anyone’s sports — men’s or women’s.”

In a Sept. 29 X post, Gaines again vowed to appeal, writing, “If the NCAA isn’t subject to Title IX, then WHO is?” 

She added, “The goal from the beginning was to get this case before the Supreme Court.”