Roanoke College violated Title IX by allowing transgender swimmer, AG says

The Virginia Attorney General’s civil rights office recently found Roanoke College to be in violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act as well as Title IX on three out of five criteria by allowing a male swimmer to join the women’s swim team. 

However, when contacted by The College Fix, the college “categorically” denied any wrongdoing. On the other hand, a conservative women’s group praised the AG’s findings as a victory for female athletes.

“This is a victory not just for the women of Roanoke, but for all females in Virginia who deserve fairness, equity, and safety in sex‑segregated athletics. Roanoke College is absolutely wrong to have allowed ‘gender identity’ to override biological truth and reality,” Beth Parlato with the Independent Women’s Forum told The Fix in a recent email.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares published his Office of Civil Rights finding Aug. 25 in response to concerns that female athletes raised back in 2023 about a trans-identifying biological male joining the college’s swim team.

Miyares determined that the public college violated the state’s Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as Title IX, a federal law that bans discrimination on the basis of sex, specifically in educational institutions receiving federal funding. 

The attorney general’s finding states that the college “denied its female swimmers accommodations, advantages, and privileges of the swim program and otherwise discriminated against them on the basis of sex.”

This finding is based upon the physiological differences between men and women and the unfair advantages post-pubescent levels of testosterone affords males, causing displacement of women on women’s teams by males. 

The second violation was found in the denial of “female swimmers equal accommodations, resources, and participation on the basis of sex,” according to the attorney general.

The finding notes that equality in these areas includes both the ability to be listed on team rosters as well as the requirement “offering equivalent institutionally sponsored support as compared to other athletes.” 

The female swimmers were not provided with mental health resources nor were they offered any opportunity to speak with Roanoke administrators; however, the male swimmer was offered such resources, according to the finding.

The final violation, according to the report, was Roanoke’s retaliation against female swimmers who publicly criticized the college’s discriminatory policies. All but one swimmer, who had close ties to a professor involved in the program, were denied participation in the college’s term study abroad program.

The AG’s office wrote that these discriminatory measures “caused harm to the women swimmers.” 

This was found to be true even though the college “did not deny the female swimmers the opportunity to compete” due to the male swimmer removing himself from the women’s team before competition.

However, the AG’s report concluded that the college was not liable for the harassment faced by the female swimmers, because administrators did provide them with extra security measures after being subjected to “threats” when they spoke out.

“The evidence shows Roanoke took steps reasonably calculated to end the harassment,” the report states.

The report also states that some of the women swimmers became physically ill and undernourished as well as suffered mental health problems and drops in grade point averages due to said discriminatory measures taken against the women on the basis of their sex.  

Responding in a statement, the college “categorically” denied “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 transgender student never competed on the women’s team,” the college stated. 

The college referred The Fix to the statement when contacted recently, asking why it believes the AG’s findings are unsubstantiated. 

The Fix also asked both the college and the attorney general’s office why the college says it “cooperated fully” with the investigation and the AG says the opposite. Neither responded. 

Meanwhile, Parlato, the senior legal advisor at the Independent Women’s Forum, celebrated the attorney general’s decision. Her conservative organization works to advance women’s freedom, opportunities, and well-being.

“This ruling sends a strong message: that sex matters in sport, that fairness is a legal requirement, and that no female athlete should be forced to compete against biologically male individuals,” she told The Fix in a recent email.

The College Fix also contacted the Virginia Attorney General’s Office for comment twice via email, asking about the college’s response to its decision. The office did not respond.

MORE: Male dropped request to compete as female swimmer, even as Roanoke College rushed to accommodate