2 weeks ago
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The Attorney General of Virginia is accusing Roanoke College of discrimination and retaliation against its own swimmers who were outspoken against the inclusion of a trans swimmer on the women's team.
AG Jason Miyares conducted an investigation into the school and the findings were released by complainants.
Miyares alleges that Roanoke College denied the biological female swimmers 'accomodations, advantages, and privileges on the basis of sex, caused the women emotional, physical, and dignitary harms, and violated the Virginia Human Rights Act.'
Roanoke College 'categorically denies the unsubstantiated allegation that its trustees, faculty, staff, coaches, or administration violated the human rights of any students or retaliated against them in any way,' the school said in a statement provided to Daily Mail Sport.
Miyares suggested the biological female swimmers are eligible to seek financial damages. While there is no recorded instance of a school having to pay damages to biological women for competing with trans women, there are multiple lawsuits being litigated across the country over similar situations.
The male-to-female trans swimmer initially joined the team in 2023. However, after biological female swimmers met with the athletic director multiple times to voice complaints and multiple letters to the school's administration were written, the trans athlete in question withdrew from the team.
Virginia AG Jason Miyares found that Roanoke College 'discriminated and retaliated' against female swimmers who were teammates with a male-to-female transgender athlete in 2023
After the withdrawal, athletes on the team joined a lawsuit filed by Riley Gaines against the NCAA - alleging their civil rights were violated. At the time of the suit, the NCAA said the collegiate sports governing body 'does not comment on pending litigation.'
As for the allegations of retaliation, Miyares says that six swimmers on the team applied for study abroad opportunities three days before hosting a press conference when some of them expressed their displeasure with having a trans swimmer on their team.
Miyares' investigation found that 'Two weeks after the press conference, the Roanoke professors in charge of the Japan and Greece travel terms rejected the female swimmers' applications.'
The investigation noted that the VHRA barred 'unlawful discrimination and retaliation by educational institutions on the basis of sex', adding that 'No educational institution may "refuse, withhold from, or deny" any accommodations, advantages, or privileges on the basis of sex.'
Miyares' office added that the school's policy 'that forces women participating in sex-separated collegiate sports to compete against individuals with the biological advantages of male puberty deprives those women of accommodations, advantages, and privileges made available to others on the basis of sex and violates the VHRA.'
The attorney general did not suggest if there would be any legal consequences as a result of Roanoke's alleged actions.
Some of those swimmers joined a campaign rally for then-Republican-candidate Donald Trump which was hosted in October Salem, Virginia - where the school is located - to discuss their experience.
Kate Pearson, Lily Mullens and Bailey Gallagher (L-R) were three students who held a press conference after they claimed they were being forced by the school to swim with a trans athlete
However, in its response to the Attorney General's report, Roanoke College claimed that the transgender swimmer never competed on the women's swim team.
'In the face of contradictory guidance (from the NCAA and USA Swimming), the college acted swiftly but deliberatively to study the matter and, within six weeks, had adopted a policy more stringent than the NCAA position, which rendered the student ineligible to compete,' the school's statement read. 'The transgender student never competed on the women’s team.'
The college maintained that it denied the allegations that it had denied the female swimmers' human rights had been violated, while insisting that it supported all its students' right to the freedom of speech.
'We understand that the issue of transgender participation in college sports is a highly charged topic,' Roanoke College continued.
'Understandably, Americans have strong opinions about the issue, and our response to this situation has earned the college both praise and derision. On behalf of everyone in our community, we celebrate the individual’s right to form opinions and champion the right to free speech.
'From the beginning, we have been committed to full transparency and to fulfilling our almost 200-year Lutheran history of serving students. We expect the Attorney General to be similarly motivated and thus anticipate that any ongoing process will correct errors of fact and law reflected in the report.'
The school added that it had cooperated fully with the Attorney General’s Office and that it would continue to do so.
