Former UPenn women's swimmers sue Ivy League institutions and NCAA alleging push of pro-trans ideology

EXCLUSIVE: Former University of Pennsylvania women's swimmers Grace Estabrook, Margot Kaczorowski and Ellen Holmquist person filed a suit against the university, Harvard University, the NCAA and the Ivy League Council of Presidents implicit their acquisition sharing a squad with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. The suit does not sanction Thomas arsenic a defendant. 

According to tribunal documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Estabrok, Kaczorowski and Holmquist reason that Thomas' eligibility to vie arsenic a pistillate for UPenn violated their Title IX rights. It argues the NCAA's 2010, which allows biologic males to vie successful the women's class based connected their preferred sex identity, is "discriminatory."

The women assertion that by allowing Thomas to compete, the institutions "injured them and violated national law."

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The suit besides elaborate the idiosyncratic experiences each of the women faced having to stock a squad and locker country with Thomas. Each of the plaintiffs claims the acquisition near them "repeatedly emotionally traumatized."

The plaintiffs allege that the assemblage administrators pushed pro-trans ideology onto them passim the process of accepting Thomas connected the squad and successful their locker room. The erstwhile swimmers accidental that they were led to consciousness their concerns implicit being teammates with Thomas was rooted successful a "psychological problem."

"The UPenn administrators told the women that if anyone was struggling with accepting Thomas’s information connected the UPenn Women’s team, they should question counseling and enactment from CAPS and the LBGTQ center," the suit alleges. 

"The administrators besides invited the women to a speech titled, ‘Trans 101.’ Thus, the women were led to recognize that UPenn’s presumption was that if a pistillate connected the squad had immoderate occupation with a trans-identifying antheral being connected her squad that pistillate had a intelligence occupation and needed counseling."

Lia Thomas of the Pennsylvania Quakers swims successful the 500 gait freestyle lawsuit during a tri-meet against the Yale Bulldogs and the Dartmouth Big Green astatine Sheerr Pool connected the field of the University of Pennsylvania connected January 8, 2022 successful Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

The plaintiffs besides allege that the administrators warned them against speaking retired against the concern publicly.

"The UPenn administrators went connected to archer the women that if the women spoke publically astir their concerns astir Thomas’ information connected the Women’s Team, the estimation of those complaining astir Thomas being connected the squad would beryllium tainted with transphobia for the remainder of their lives and they would astir apt ne'er beryllium capable to get a job,’" the suit alleges.

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Thomas, a biologic male, antecedently competed for the UPenn men's swimming squad from 2017-20 nether the sanction Will Thomas. According to the lawsuit, Thomas was introduced by women's swimming caput manager Mike Schnur to the women's swimmers during a squad gathering successful Fall 2019 arsenic their incoming teammate. 

The suit alleges that coaches and UPenn administrators told the women's swimmers not to speech astir Thomas' situation. Schnur allegedly told the women's swimmers that Thomas wouldn't beryllium sharing a locker country with them erstwhile they asked aft the archetypal introduction. 

But that allegedly changed later.

Thomas officially began to signifier and vie with the women's swimmers successful Fall 2021. 

And that was erstwhile the pistillate swimmers accidental they discovered that Schnur's alleged assertion Thomas wouldn't stock a locker country was not true. 

"When UPenn’s women’s swimmers returned to schoolhouse successful the autumn of 2021 they were shocked to observe that Thomas was being allowed to usage the women’s locker country astatine UPenn and would beryllium allowed to usage the women’s locker country astatine aquatics meets," the suit alleges.

"Margot [Kaczorowski] lone learned that Thomas had been authorized by UPenn to usage the women’s locker country erstwhile [Kaczorowski] walked successful the women’s locker country to find Thomas successful beforehand of her changing his clothing."

Per the suit, Kaczorowski confronted Schnur successful tears astir her daze of discovering Thomas would present stock a locker country with her. She alleges the manager responded by saying "I cognize it’s incorrect but there’s thing I tin do."

"Coach Schnur told the Plaintiffs helium would beryllium fired by UPenn if helium did not let Thomas to usage the women’s locker country and vie connected the women’s aquatics team," the suit alleges. 

In December 2021, different squad gathering was held to sermon Thomas' beingness connected the squad and the media attraction it garnered, per the tribunal documents. The pistillate swimmers allege they were told that Thomas would proceed to beryllium connected their squad and that "Lia swimming is simply a non-negotiable."

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The 3 pistillate swimmers allege that they were made to judge they would beryllium removed from the squad if they tried to protestation Thomas' information up of the 2022 Ivy League championships. 

"UPenn aquatics squad members were told by Coach Schnur and UPenn administrators that UPenn administrators coordinated intimately with the NCAA and the Ivy League to guarantee that Thomas would beryllium eligible for the 2021-2022 women’s swimming season," the suit alleged.

"These statements astir adjacent coordination betwixt UPenn, the Ivy League and the NCAA regarding Thomas’ eligibility led the UPenn Women’s Team members to recognize the resisting oregon protesting the information of Thomas connected the squad oregon his beingness successful the locker country would beryllium futile and could effect successful the women being removed from the squad oregon from UPenn."

At the 2022 Ivy League Swimming Championships, Thomas came successful archetypal successful the 500-, 200- and 100-yard freestyle races, mounting excavation and Ivy League records, and was yet the highest-scoring swimmer astatine the full meet. That year's contention was hosted astatine Harvard's Blodgett Pool successful Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas poses with her teammates Hannah Kannan, Camryn Carter, and Margot Kaczorowski aft winning the 400 gait freestyle relay during the 2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships astatine Blodgett Pool connected February 19, 2022 successful Cambridge, Massachusetts.  (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

The suit alleges that Harvard made nary accommodations for immoderate of the pistillate athletes who did not privation to stock a locker country oregon restroom with Thomas. 

"Harvard did not supply a unisex bath oregon abstracted bath for Thomas to usage oregon for immoderate different women to usage who did not privation to usage the Women’s Locker country portion Thomas was utilizing it," the suit alleges. 

After Thomas' record-breaking show successful Cambridge that February, the jock went connected to vie astatine that year's NCAA championships. There, an infamous necktie with erstwhile University of Kentucky Riley Gaines resulted successful Thomas hoisting the trophy for photo-ops implicit the biologically pistillate Gaines. 

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Gaines has since filed her ain suit against the NCAA alongside respective different pistillate athletes who person been affected by the association's sex individuality policies. 

Other pistillate competitors from that lawsuit who joined Gaines' suit person spoken retired astir their acquisition with Thomas arsenic well. 

Former North Carolina State women's swimmer Kylee Alons, a 31-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion, spoke astir the acquisition competing against and sharing a locker country with Thomas, during a Georgia legislature committee proceeding connected Jan. 30. 

"We each were conscionable guinea pigs for a elephantine societal experimentation formed by the NCAA regarding however overmuch maltreatment and blatant disregard women would beryllium forced to instrumentality successful silence," Alons said. "I spell to the locker country that time lone to spot Thomas and recognize determination is nary flight from this nightmare, nary substance wherever I go. I had nary thought helium was going to beryllium allowed successful the women's locker country arsenic we did not consent to person a antheral successful our locker room."

Former University of Kentucky swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler joined Lyons successful recounting the acquisition of sharing a locker country with Thomas astatine the Jan. 30 hearing. 

"Young women, teenage girls were forced to undress adjacent to a afloat intact biologic antheral who exposed himself to us, portion we were simultaneously afloat exposed," Wheeler said. "We were ne'er asked. We were ne'er fixed a prime oregon different option. We were conscionable expected to beryllium OK with it, to shove down our discomfort, our embarrassment, our fear, due to the fact that lasting up for ourselves would mean being labeled arsenic intolerant oregon hateful oregon bigoted."

Fox News Digital has reached retired to UPenn, Harvard, The Ivy League and the NCAA for comment, but has not received a effect astatine the clip of publication.

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NCAA President Charlie Baker addressed concerns implicit the contented of pistillate athletes having to stock teams and locker rooms with trans athletes during a Senate Judiciary Committee proceeding successful December. 

There, Baker insisted that pistillate athletes person the enactment to find different accommodations if they're uncomfortable sharing with transgenders. 

"Everybody other should person an accidental to usage different facilities if they privation to bash so," Baker said.

Baker besides says that the NCAA's policies that let trans athletes to vie against women is based connected national standards. 

Those national standards whitethorn alteration successful the coming days. 

President Donald Trump is acceptable to motion an executive order to prohibition trans athletes from competing successful girls' and women's sports connected Wednesday. 

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls successful Sports Act Jan. 14, which would chopped national backing for immoderate nationalist acquisition instauration that allows transgender athletes to vie against girls and women successful sports.

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