Swarthmore responds to lawsuit alleging it put trans athlete back on women’s track team after NCAA rule change

Swarthmore College has responded to a lawsuit filed by transgender track and field athlete Evelyn Parts that alleges the school removed Parts from the women’s team after the NCAA changed its rules to prohibit males from competing in women’s sports, but later added Parts back to the team despite the new rules. 

Parts filed the lawsuit this week, becoming the third trans athlete in the span of a month to sue a U.S. college for being removed from a women’s team.

Swarthmore provided a statement to Fox News Digital in response to Parts’ lawsuit and the specific allegations of adding Parts back to the team after the NCAA changed its rules. 

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“Swarthmore deeply values our transgender community members and the many ways they enrich campus life. We offer numerous resources to create a welcoming, supportive and inclusive environment for transgender individuals. We recognize that this is an especially difficult and painful time for members of the transgender community, including student-athletes,” the statement said.

“We worked to support Evie Parts in a time of rapidly evolving guidance, while balancing the ability for other members of the women’s track team to compete in NCAA events. Given the pending litigation, we will not comment any further.”

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Parts alleged 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 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. 

Parts’ attorney, Susie Cirilli, previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing the 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. 

Swarthmore would not be the first school to allow a biological male to compete in women’s sports after the NCAA rule change, if the allegations are true. 

Ithaca College in New York admitted to allowing a trans athlete to 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 would face any consequences. 

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, Brooke Slusser and multiple former UPenn women’s swimmers.

Trans athlete Sadie Schreiner, who Cirilli is also representing in a lawsuit against Princeton University, was previously allowed to compete for 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. 

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. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the NCAA for comment on Parts’ lawsuit. 

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