A TRANSGENDER runner has sued the NCAA and her college by claiming she was illegally removed from the team.
Evie Parts was taken off Swarthmore College’s track team on February 6.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order this year banning trans athletes from competing in women’s sports[/caption]
That was the same day a new NCAA policy was issued on transgender athletes.
But the lawsuit filed by parts said that the ban did not have legal grounds because the NCAA is not a governmental organization.
That means it does not have jurisdiction over Pennsylvania state law or the Title IX federal statute, the suit continued.
Swarthmore track coach Peter Carroll, athletic director Brad Koch and athletics officials Christina Epps-Chiazor and Valerie Gomez were also all named in the lawsuit.
According to the complaint, they sent Parts into “such a depressive state that she engaged in self-harm and in one moment told a friend that she wanted to kill herself.”
Parts’ attorney Susie Cirilli released a statement to the Associated Press.
It read, “We stand by the allegations in the complaint.
“As stated in the complaint, the NCAA is a private organization that issued a bigoted policy.
“Swarthmore College, a private liberal arts school in Swarthmore, Pa., chose to follow that policy and disregard federal and state law.”
The school also issued a statement to the Associated Press.
It read, “We recognize that this is an especially difficult and painful time for members of the transgender community, including student-athletes.
“We worked to support Evie Parts in a time of rapidly evolving guidance, while balancing the ability for other members of the women’s track team to compete in NCAA events.
“Given the pending litigation, we will not comment any further.”
The NCAA chose not to comment, the Associated Press report says.
The NCAA’s new policy came a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order.
The President moved to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.
On May 6, Pennsylvania’s state Senate approved a bill to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports and girl’s sports.
Parts joined Swarthmore’s track team in 2020.
She took a break before returning to the Division III team in 2023.
According to her lawsuit, she was told after the NCAA ban that she could compete with the men’s team or as an unattached athlete.
She was also allegedly told that she would only receive medical treatment if she competed on the men’s team.
