Fighting ban on transgender sports is ‘totally misogynistic’: Riley Gaines
Fox News discusses the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the ban on transgender sports. Former American NCAA player Riley Gaines says it’s “insane” to question biological sex in sport, saying boys should not participate in women’s sports. She calls the opposition movement “misogynistic,” advocating the rights of female athletes and fair competition, a view echoed by Education Secretary Linda McMahon. This highlights the controversial issue of women’s sports.
FIRST ON FOX: A federal judge on Monday dismissed Riley Gaines’ lawsuit against the NCAA after finding that the evidence did not establish the NCAA as a recipient of federal financial aid subject to Title IX. Gaines and the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) plan to appeal.
Gaines and more than a dozen other current and former college athletes filed a lawsuit in March 2024, alleging that the NCAA violated their Title IX rights by adopting and enforcing policies allowing biological males to compete in women’s events and use women’s locker rooms.
“This momentary setback will not deter me or other female athletes at all,” Gaines said in a statement. “Rest assured, we will appeal this decision. We are on the side of truth. I am convinced that Americans will rally with us to fight the NCAA.”
American conservative political activist Riley Gaines speaks before the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear arguments in challenges to state bans on transgender athletes in women’s sports, January 13, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Olivier Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)
The plaintiffs have 30 days to file a notice of appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit,
U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson of the Northern District of Georgia granted the NCAA’s motion for summary judgment on the lawsuit’s remaining Title IX claims. Johnson was nominated to the federal bench by former President Joe Biden in 2024.
Johnson found that the NCAA and the Department of Defense maintained separate funding streams for research. Both contributed financially to Indiana University, but the department’s money went to the university and other research participants rather than the NCAA, according to the order.
The judge also rejected the athletes’ arguments that the NCAA indirectly received federal funding, controlled the entities that received the money or became a recipient of federal funding through reimbursement for certain travel expenses of its employees.
“Here, there is no evidence that the NCAA ever received, or could have received, federal funds,” Johnson wrote. “Thus, Plaintiffs’ Title IX claims cannot succeed.”
The decision hinged on whether the NCAA qualified as a recipient of federal financial assistance, a prerequisite for liability under Title IX. He did not rule on whether the NCAA’s previous policy regarding transgender athletes constituted sex discrimination.
The case focused heavily on the 2022 NCAA Division I women’s swimming and diving championships at Georgia Tech, where former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship.
Gaines, then a swimmer for the University of Kentucky, tied Thomas for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle final. Gaines also said she and other swimmers had to share a locker room with Thomas during the championships.
The lawsuit names athletes from several sports, including swimmers Kylee Alons, Reka Gyorgy, Kaitlynn Wheeler and Grace Countie, former San Jose State volleyball player Brooke Slusser and former Roanoke College swimmer Lily Mullens.
Johnson previously dismissed the plaintiffs’ constitutionality and privacy claims, as well as their claims against the University System of Georgia, Georgia Tech and other state defendants. However, in September 2025, it allowed Title IX claims against the NCAA to temporarily survive, finding that athletes had plausibly alleged that the organization received federal assistance through a concussion research partnership with the Department of Defense.
The court then authorized a limited discovery focusing specifically on the NCAA’s relationship with the Department of Defense.
RILEY GAINES AND WOMEN’S SPORTS ACTIVISTS SHARE HONEST REACTIONS AND EMOTIONS TO SCOTUS’ TITLE IX DECISION
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing tied for fifth in the 200 freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships March 18, 2022, at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The decision follows the framework established by the Supreme Court’s 1999 decision in NCAA v. Smith. In that case, the high court held that the NCAA was not subject to Title IX simply because it collected dues from member institutions that received federal funds.
ICONS co-founder Kim Jones said the organization believed Johnson made a mistake and predicted the appeals court would conclude that the NCAA, which governs more than 1,100 member colleges and universities, was covered by Title IX.
“We will not give up our fight for the rights of women and girls in sport,” Jones said. “ICONS will support the appeal of Riley Gaines, Brooke Slusser, Kylee Alons, Reka Gyorgy, Kaitlynn Wheeler, Grace Countie, Ainsley Erzen, Lily Mullens and the many other young women who depended on the NCAA to protect their equal opportunity but were failed by the NCAA.”
The NCAA no longer uses the eligibility policy challenged in the lawsuit. In February 2025, following an executive order from President Donald Trump, the organization changed its rules to prohibit athletes assigned male at birth from competing on women’s teams. These athletes can still train with women’s teams and receive some benefits associated with practice.
ICONS co-founder Marshi Smith responded to Monday’s ruling by urging members of Congress to oppose the Protect College Sports Act, a sweeping bill backed by the NCAA that would establish national rules governing athlete compensation, transfers and eligibility while providing certain antitrust protections to the NCAA, conferences and schools.
The Senate passed the bill Monday by a 77-22 vote, sending it to the House. The bipartisan proposal is led by Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
“The NCAA’s refusal to recognize its responsibility for respecting women’s rights means it cannot be trusted to regulate anyone’s sports, whether men’s or women’s,” Smith said.
Smith argued that Congress should not grant additional authority to the NCAA after the organization successfully maintained that it was not covered by Title IX.
“The NCAA cannot be trusted to receive sweeping new powers that it will use only to inflict further harm on women,” she said.
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The NCAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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