By Peyton Majors
Christian Action League
March 22, 2024
A North Carolina State University swimmer is one of 16 female athletes who are taking on the NCAA in a lawsuit alleging the organization violated Title IV by allowing a biological male swimmer to compete in and win a race during the 2022 NCAA Swimming Championships.
North Carolina State swimmer and All-American Kylee Alons is one of 16 names on a lawsuit that clams the NCAA “engaged in a continuing pattern and practice of discrimination against women in violation of Title IX” by allowing Penn’s Lia Thomas — a biological man who competes as a woman — to race in the NCAA Championships. Thomas, who formerly swam for Penn in the men’s division, won the women’s 500-yard freestyle.
Thomas was the first transgender woman to win an NCAA championship.
“The NCAA has … imposed a radical anti-woman agenda on college sports, reinterpreting Title IX to define women as a testosterone level, permitting men to compete on women’s teams, and destroying female safe spaces in women’s locker rooms by authorizing naked men possessing full male genitalia to disrobe in front of non-consenting college women and creating situations in which unwilling female college athletes unwittingly or reluctantly expose their naked or partially clad bodies to males, subjecting women to a loss of their constitutional right to bodily privacy,” the suit says.
Title IX is a 1972 law that bans discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities, including sports. Its adoption in the 1970s led to a revolution in women’s sports on the college level.
The NCAA, the suit says, has violated Title IX by “implementing policies which allow males who identify as transgender to access female locker rooms and take the places of women on women’s teams.”
Alons completed her eligibility last season. Eleven of the 16 plaintiffs, though, still have eligibility.
The lawsuit says Alons did not realize Thomas would have access to the women’s locker room until she arrived at the Championships, which were hosted by Georgia Tech.
“From that moment on, the locker room became an ‘uncomfortable’ place for Kylee,” the suit says. “She was ‘stressed out’ by having a male body in the locker room. She felt that her ‘privacy and sense of safety was violated.’ ‘It was not a private locker room anymore.’”
Eventually, Alons discovered a more private space to change: the “equipment storage closet in an area behind the bleachers.”
The lawsuit says Thomas soared from a ranking of 554th nationally as a male in the men’s 200 freestyle, to near the top of the women’s competition.
The 16 plaintiffs say in the lawsuit they hope to “secure for future generations of women the promise of Title IX that is being denied them and other college women.”
The Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) is backing the suit.
“This lawsuit against the NCAA isn’t just about competition; it’s a fight for the very essence of women’s sports,” said ICONS co-founder Marshi Smith, a collegiate All-American and NCAA national champion swimmer. “We’re standing up for justice and the rights of female athletes to compete on a level playing field. It’s about preserving the legacy of Title IX and ensuring that the future of women’s sports is as bright as its past.”
Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, applauded the women for taking a stand.
“As a Christian organization supported by believers who hold to biblical principles, the League wholeheartedly supports the efforts of Kylee Alons and her fellow female athletes in their class action lawsuit against the NCAA,” Creech said. “This is, no doubt, difficult for them. But we applaud their courage to challenge the NCAA decision to allow biological males to compete in sports designated for females. This not only undermines the integrity of competition, but also violates the fundamental principle of equal treatment and fairness which is deeply rooted in Title IX.”
Scripture and common sense, Creech said, back the lawsuit.
“In Genesis 1:27, it is stated that God created humankind in his own image, male and female. This fundamental truth emphasizes the inherent differences and unique characteristics between men and women, including physical attributes that directly impact athletic performance,” Creech said. “Allowing biological males to compete against females not only disregards these inherent differences but diminishes the opportunities for female athletes to excel in their respective sports on a level playing field.
“Furthermore, the Bible teaches us to protect the privacy, safety and dignity of individuals, particularly in spaces like locker rooms where there should be a reasonable expectation of privacy. Forcing female athletes to share such intimate spaces with biological males not only causes emotional distress but also violates their God-given right to privacy and security. It is immoral!”
Creech urged Christians to pray for and support the suit.
“The class action lawsuit filed by Kylee Alons and her peers is not just a legal battle, but a moral imperative to stand up for what is right and just,” Creech said. “It calls for the NCAA to uphold the true spirit of Title IX and to rectify the harm done to female athletes by compensating them for their losses and revoking any awards or records obtained by male athletes competing as females.
“As Christians, we must advocate for policies and practices that align with biblical principles of equality, fairness and respect for human dignity. I urge all Christians to support Kylee Alons and her fellow female athletes in their pursuit of justice and equality in sports. May their courage and conviction inspire positive change and uphold the integrity of women’s sports for generations to come.”