Former college swimmers file lawsuit to challenge transgender Lia Thomas NCAA records

Three former University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) swimmers have launched a federal lawsuit to invalidate collegiate women’s swimming records set by transgender athlete and biological male Lia Thomas.

The swimmers claim her participation denied them equal opportunities and caused emotional trauma. 

Margot Kaczorowski, Ellen Holmquist, and Grace Estabrook filed the suit on February 4 against UPenn, Harvard University, the NCAA, and the Ivy League Council of Presidents, alleging violations of Title IX, which is a federal law banning sex-based discrimination in education.

The lawsuit, filed two days before President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring transgender women from female sports, accuses them of prioritizing Thomas rights over those of “cisgender women.” 

Thomas swam for UPenn’s men’s team from 2017 to 2020 before transitioning and joining the women’s team in 2021 under NCAA hormone therapy guidelines. 

Thomas gained global attention in 2022 by winning an NCAA title in the 500-yard freestyle and breaking Ivy League records, but was later barred from the Olympics under international rules restricting transgender athletes who underwent male puberty.  

The plaintiffs, who competed alongside Thomas during the 2021–22 season, allege her participation cost them competitive opportunities. 

Holmquist claims she missed qualifying for the Ivy League Championships by one spot due to Thomas’s participation, while Estabrook and Kaczorowski argue they placed lower in events. 

They also describe being “repeatedly emotionally traumatized” by sharing locker rooms with Thomas, alleging administrators dismissed their concerns and pressured them to accept her presence or risk being labeled transphobic.  

“This lawsuit exposes the behind-the-scenes scheming to impose radical gender ideology on college sports,” said attorney Bill Bock, representing the swimmers. 

The suit seeks to erase Thomas’s records and declares her ineligible for women’s competitions, accusing the Ivy League of orchestrating a “public shock and awe display” to normalize transgender athletes.  

The NCAA stated it “does not comment on pending litigation.”

Trump’s February 5 executive order, Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports, threatens federal funding cuts to schools allowing transgender athletes in female events. 

“The war on women’s sports is over,” Trump declared, surrounded by female athletes at the White House.