Judge dismisses remaining Title IX claims against NCAA

A federal judge has dismissed the remaining Title IX claims against the NCAA in a lawsuit brought by former college swimmer Riley Gaines and more than a dozen other female athletes, finding that the evidence did not establish the association as a recipient of federal financial assistance. The ruling leaves the plaintiffs’ allegations of sex discrimination unresolved, and Gaines says they plan to appeal. U.S. District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson granted summary judgment to the NCAA on Monday, September 28, concluding that Title IX did not apply to the association on the funding record before the court. Title IX bars sex discrimination in federally funded education programs. Johnson wrote that there was no evidence the NCAA had received or could have received federal funds. The dispute included a concussion-research partnership involving the NCAA, the Defense Department and Indiana University. In her ruling, Johnson found that federal research money went to Indiana University and other research participants, not to the NCAA.