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A third transgender athlete has sued a U.S. college in the span of one month in response to the ongoing national crackdown on biological males in women’s sports.
However, the latest lawsuit also claims a trans athlete was reinstated to a women’s team in April despite NCAA policy and federal law prohibiting it.
Trans track and field runner Evelyn Parts is suing Swarthmore College and the NCAA, alleging the school violated Title IX when it banned Parts from competing on the women’s track and field team earlier this year.
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Parts alleges the school said Parts could no longer compete on the women’s team in February, the same month the NCAA changed its gender eligibility policy to prevent biological males from competing in the women’s category after President Donald Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order.
Parts’ lawsuit also claims the trans athlete was “fully reinstated” to the Swarthmore women’s track team April 11. Parts claims to have been allowed to compete on the women’s team until graduating in May, even after the policy changes and Trump’s executive order went into effect.
Parts is listed as the winner of the women’s 10,000 meters at the Bill Butler Invitational in April and as a participant in the Paul Donahue Invite that same month and the Centennial Championships in early May, according to the athlete’s Swarthmore Athletics page.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Swarthmore College and the NCAA for comment.
Parts sued less than a month after fellow trans runner Sadie Schreiner filed a lawsuit against Princeton University after allegedly being excluded from a women’s race in May.
Parts’ lawsuit was filed less than a week after trans volleyball player Emma Morquecho filed a lawsuit against Westcliff University and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA), an alternate college sports governing body to the NCAA, alleging a scholarship offer was revoked and eligibility was denied.
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Lawsuits filed by trans athletes against schools that have excluded them from women’s sports are a growing trend after Trump’s new federal mandate on the issue. It contrasts with the previous trend of female athletes suing the NCAA and universities for having to compete with and share locker rooms with biological males.
Former President Joe Biden had an executive order in place that protected the rights of trans athletes to compete in women’s sports, and the NCAA’s previous policy enabled trans athletes. The participation of former University of Pennsylvania trans swimmer Lia Thomas and former San Jose State trans volleyball player Blaire Fleming prompted multiple lawsuits against those institutions and the NCAA led by Riley Gaines and Brooke Slusser.
Schreiner was previously allowed to compete on Rochester Institute of Technology’s (RIT) women’s track and field team for two years before the February NCAA rule change. Former RIT women’s track runner Caroline Hill joined Gaines’ lawsuit against the NCAA, citing her experience competing with and sharing a locker room with Schreiner.
Parts is being represented by attorney Susie Cirilli, the same attorney representing Schreiner in the lawsuit against Princeton.
Cirilli provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing Parts’ lawsuit.
“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 chose to follow that policy and disregard federal and state law,” Cirilli said.
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Cirilli previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing Schreiner’s lawsuit against Princeton.
“The action of the two Princeton officials were in blatant and willful disregard of Sadie’s rights as a transgender woman under controlling New Jersey law,” the statement said. “The actions of the defendants were utterly intolerable in a civilized community and go beyond the possible bounds of decency.”
Trump’s Department of Education has already taken action against multiple universities over incidents of trans inclusion in women’s sports prior to Trump’s executive order. The DOE reached an agreement with UPenn over Thomas’ participation in women’s swimming in early July. The university agreed to expunge the trans athlete’s records and apologize to all the female athletes affected by Thomas’ presence on the women’s team.
Earlier in August, the DOE reached an agreement with Wagner College for a similar resolution regarding former trans fencer Redmond Sullivan.
The DOE’s investigation into San Jose State over the Fleming controversy is ongoing.
If Parts’ allegations are true, Swarthmore would be the second school with a recorded instance of a trans athlete competing on a women’s team after the NCAA policy change and Trump’s executive order in February.
Ithaca College in New York admitted to allowing a trans athlete compete in a Division III rowing competition in March. The trans athlete competed in the Cayuga Duals, but only in the third varsity eight event, which is not factored into NCAA championship qualification.
Ithaca provided a statement to Fox News Digital saying the trans athlete’s participation was due to a “misunderstanding” by the coaching staff.
The NCAA provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing Ithaca’s breach of policy.
“The policy is clear that there are no waivers available, and students assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team with amended birth certificates or other forms of ID,” the NCAA said.
“If competition occurs, the team will be considered a mixed team and not eligible to compete against women’s teams. Ithaca stated their intent to adhere to the policy which allows for practice opportunities, and the NCAA appreciates Ithaca’s responsiveness.”
The NCAA did not indicate whether results from the event would be voided or if Ithaca will face any consequences.
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