Gaines' lawyer says settlement would require enforceable consent decree amid NCAA Title IX suit

A federal judge allowed the core Title IX claims in Riley Gaines’ lawsuit against the NCAA to proceed, rejecting most of the NCAA’s bid to dismiss the case. U.S. District Judge Tiffany Johnson ruled Thursday that Gaines and 19 other plaintiffs plausibly alleged the NCAA receives federal financial assistance and is thus subject to Title IX. The decision narrows the path for the defendants but leaves the litigation moving forward on the central issue: whether the NCAA’s current policy governing transgender participation in women’s sports violates federal law. The judge dismissed other charges, including arguments that the NCAA is a state actor, a right-to-bodily-privacy claim, and all claims against the University of Georgia System and Georgia Tech, which hosted the 2022 swimming championships where Gaines and other women swimmers competed against a transgender athlete. The ruling preserves the Title IX theory of the case, allowing the plaintiffs to pursue remedies under federal civil rights law while the rest of the suit proceeds on narrower grounds. The plaintiffs have signaled plans to appeal the parts of the decision that were unfavorable, including the dismissal of those non-Title IX claims.

During a discussion with Fox News Digital, Bill Bock of the Independent Council on Women's Sports, the attorney for Gaines and the other plaintiffs, outlined a potential path to settlement but emphasized it would be challenging to enforce. He said any settlement would likely have to be accompanied by a consent decree — a court-ordered, enforceable agreement that would bind the NCAA to Title IX compliance long term. “The difficulty with a settlement is making a settlement enforceable long term, so the best way to do that would be with a judicial order,” Bock said. “The only way that I think we would look at settling is if the settlement was accompanied by a consent decree, which is an enforceable ongoing order against the NCAA that complies with Title IX.” He added that while a consent decree could be part of the resolution, it might not be the only condition.

The lawsuit seeks to curb what the plaintiffs describe as systemic failures in ensuring women’s rights in NCAA competition. ICONS is pressing for a consent decree and for the implementation of mandatory sex testing for women athletes, according to Bock. Gaines and other activists have argued that the NCAA’s policy — changed in February to permit only biologically female athletes to compete in the women’s category — does not sufficiently exclude transgender competitors from women’s events. The policy change came one day after a presidential executive order focused on restricting transgender participation in women’s sports.

The plaintiffs’ office contends that the NCAA’s policy changed in a way that could undermine protections afforded to women under Title IX, and they argue the association’s rules should be subject to stronger oversight. Since the policy took effect, there have been several high-profile examples cited by supporters of the challenge: trans athletes competing in women’s events across college sports. In one case, trans track and field athlete Evelyn Parts sued Swarthmore College over the school’s decision to reinstate her after the policy change attempt. Parts’s athletics page lists several results in women’s events during the period surrounding the policy change. Separately, Ithaca College acknowledged allowing a trans athlete to compete in Division III rowing during a March competition, though the athlete competed in a sub-event not counted for NCAA championship qualification. The NCAA responded to Ithaca’s actions by stating that Ithaca’s approach aimed to balance practice opportunities with policy adherence and commended the school’s responsiveness.

Gaines, Bock and the other plaintiffs are seeking to prevent future policy-related disruptions and ensure the NCAA adheres to Title IX protections in all aspects of competition. In the ruling, Johnson dismissed the NCAA’s broader arguments but left the Title IX dispute intact, with the possibility to shape how the policy is applied in practice. Bock indicated that, beyond the potential consent decree, the plaintiffs aim to obtain a judicial determination that the NCAA’s current policy violates Title IX and harmed female athletes who competed in the NCAA championships in 2022. The plaintiffs’ goal includes establishing enforceable safeguards against a policy rollback or inconsistent enforcement, should federal guidance on transgender participation shift in the future. The decision to preserve Title IX claims while dismissing others aligns with a common strategy in civil rights litigation: lock in the core civil rights question while allowing the case to move forward on specific, legally grounded issues.

NCAA officials provided a statement in response to the ruling, reaffirming that college sports remain a premier stage for women’s athletics and that the association will continue to promote Title IX, invest in women’s sports, and ensure fair competition in NCAA championships. The NCAA also asserted that its transgender participation policy aligns with the existing executive order and the legal framework surrounding the issue. The organization did not provide additional comment beyond that statement.

As the case moves forward, the plaintiffs’ team is prepared to pursue the Title IX claims through further litigation, including any appeals the parties choose to file. The dispute centers on whether the NCAA’s policy adequately protects the rights and opportunities of female athletes and whether a court can compel enduring changes to how the policy is applied. The plaintiffs’ advocacy groups argue that the current approach does not suffice to guarantee fair competition and equal opportunity for all women athletes across the NCAA system. The broader debate involving how to balance inclusion with eligibility criteria continues to shape dialogues within college sports. The outcome of this lawsuit could influence future policy decisions and the level of oversight the NCAA faces in enforcing gender-identity rules across its championships.

Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He has covered major events including the Super Bowl and NBA Finals and has interviewed prominent athletes and figures across sports.