Attorney General Miyares Finds Roanoke College Discriminated Against Female Athletes

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares today confirmed that following an investigation his Office of Civil Rights (Office) found reasonable cause that Roanoke College violated the Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA) and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by discriminating and retaliating against female student-athletes on the basis of sex. That finding has been made public by one of the swimmers.

“Women deserve an equal opportunity to participate in competitive sports,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares. “That opportunity is protected by state and federal law. The Roanoke women swimmers endured harassment, discrimination, and retaliation just for standing up for their right to compete. My Office will keep working to ensure equal opportunities for female athletes in sex-separated collegiate sports.”

In August 2023, Roanoke College told the women’s swim team that a biological male was joining their team. The swimmer had been a member of the Roanoke College men’s swim team, and underwent hormone therapy to meet the National Collegiate Athletics Association’s (NCAA) then-existing anti-competitive guidelines. The women’s swim team unanimously objected, stating that it would not be fair to compete against a postpubescent biological male.

In the following weeks, the male swimmer dominated the female swimmers’ times and skipped practices, itself a privilege not granted to others. Demoralized by the disparities in treatment and expectations, the female swimmers met repeatedly with the Athletic Director and wrote letters to the College’s administration to voice their objections to having to compete with and against a swimmer with all the athletic advantages of a postpubescent male. However, Roanoke College ignored their objections, kept the male swimmer on the women’s team, and refused to change its discriminatory policy. Then, when the women publicly spoke out against the College and its policy, Roanoke College retaliated against them by denying multiple female swimmers’ applications for a study-abroad program.

The VHRA prohibits unlawful discrimination and retaliation by educational institutions on the basis of sex. The Office found reasonable cause that Roanoke College’s policy of allowing post-pubescent males to compete against women in sex-separated collegiate sports violates the VHRA. The Office also found reasonable cause that Roanoke denied the female swimmers privileges granted to the male swimmer and retaliated against them for objecting to the policy by depriving them of study-abroad opportunities. These actions also violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

Watch the full press conference here.

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