U.S. Masters Swimming, which allowed males to compete in ladies’s occasions, mentioned that it was totally cooperating with the lawyer normal’s investigation.
Texas Legal professional Common Ken Paxton sued an grownup swimming group final week after it allowed male athletes who determine as transgender to compete at a ladies’s spring meet in San Antonio. One of many males received a number of occasions.
Paxton’s July 16 go well with incorporates 5 counts of authorized allegations in opposition to U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS), stating that it “undermined the trust of consumers through false, deceptive, and misleading practices.”
The go well with alleges that USMS created “confusion or misunderstanding as to the source, sponsorship, approval, or certification of goods or services” by main shoppers to imagine the occasions have been open to “biological women” solely.
It mentioned the defendants didn’t disclose that their “women’s sporting events were actually mixed sporting events” that allowed males who recognized as ladies to compete.
The lawsuit additionally alleges that USMS “knew that if consumers knew that males were competing in their women’s competitions,” then “biological females” would forgo participation within the occasions.
Paxton’s go well with additionally operates as a lien discover on the swimming group’s property inside Texas.
In submitting the lawsuit, the lawyer normal is asking the courtroom for $10,000 in civil penalties, everlasting injunctive aid, attorneys’ charges and bills, and “any and all further relief to which the State may be entitled.”
USMS responded to Paxton’s allegations in an announcement, saying it was totally cooperating with the lawyer normal’s investigation.
“It is deeply disappointing to see our organization and individual members publicly targeted in a lawsuit that appears to be more about generating headlines than seeking justice,” it mentioned within the assertion.
Earlier this 12 months, President Donald Trump signed government orders geared toward banning transgender-identifying athletes from collaborating in ladies’s sports activities.
In a July 17 assertion, Paxton mentioned USMS “has deprived female participants of the opportunity to succeed at the highest levels by letting men win countless events.”
“This lawsuit will hold USMS accountable for its actions, and we will continue to fight to protect the integrity of women’s sports,” Paxton mentioned.
His lawsuit notes that Ana Caldas positioned first within the 5 occasions within the 45–49 age group and that Jennifer Rines completed forward of dozens of ladies. Each are males who determine as transgender.
In a Could visitor editorial in Swimming World, Rines wrote that establishing a discrete class for athletes who determine as transgender may be the fairest strategy for nationwide occasions. Nonetheless, Rines mentioned publicly figuring out as transgender can threaten job safety and friendships.
“At what point does the level of competition justify forcing someone to out themselves or barring them from participation altogether?” Rines wrote.
Forward of Paxton’s lawsuit, USMS had modified its coverage to stop transgender-identifying athletes from being acknowledged for putting in ladies’s occasions; nevertheless, it nonetheless allow them to compete.
The lawsuit famous that the change was “all too little, too late.”
In December 2024, Paxton sued the Nationwide Collegiate Athletics Affiliation (NCAA), saying it was deceptive shoppers into believing they have been watching competitions between gamers of just one gender.
“The NCAA is intentionally and knowingly jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of women by deceptively changing women’s competitions into co-ed competitions,” Paxton mentioned in a assertion on the time.
“When people watch a women’s volleyball game, for example, they expect to see women playing against other women—not biological males pretending to be something they are not. Radical ‘gender theory’ has no place in college sports.”
Matt McGregor and The Related Press contributed to this report.
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