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Politics20 outlets ran this3 min read

Judge dismisses Riley Gaines' Title IX lawsuit against NCAA

A federal judge ruled the NCAA is not subject to Title IX due to lack of federal funding.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Judge dismisses Riley Gaines' Title IX lawsuit against NCAA

What this story says

  • A federal judge dismissed Riley Gaines' Title IX lawsuit against the NCAA on September 28.
  • The judge ruled the NCAA is not subject to Title IX because it does not receive federal funding.
  • Riley Gaines stated her intention to appeal the ruling, aiming to take the case to the Supreme Court.
  • The lawsuit challenged the NCAA's trans-inclusive policies.

Who covered it

Left 17%(3)Centre 27%(5)Right 56%(10)

Percentages are shares of the 18 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 20 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

61/100

Hype

41/100

20 sources · methodology

A federal judge dismissed Riley Gaines' Title IX lawsuit against the NCAA. US District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson ruled on September 28 that the NCAA is not subject to Title IX because it does not receive federal funding. Gaines has stated her intention to appeal the ruling.

Disagreement on NCAA's funding

US District Judge Tiffany R. Johnson stated in her ruling that there was no evidence the NCAA received federal funds, which is a requirement for Title IX claims. Pink News reported that Gaines' legal team argued the NCAA received federal funds through a collaboration connected to concussion research via the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium. However, Johnson found that an affiliation was not the same as being a direct recipient of federal money, and that Department of Defense funding went to universities and other research participants rather than the NCAA.

What the coverage left out

None of the left-rated digests mention the specific date of the NCAA championships in 2022 where Riley Gaines tied with Lia Thomas in the 200-yard freestyle final. None of the centre-rated digests mention the specific date of the NCAA championships in 2022 where Riley Gaines tied with Lia Thomas in the 200-yard freestyle final. None of the right-rated digests mention the specific date of the NCAA championships in 2022 where Riley Gaines tied with Lia Thomas in the 200-yard freestyle final.

Tags:#RileyGaines#NCAA#TitleIX#TransgenderAthletes#WomensSports

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 30 Sept 2026, 13:00, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

3 rated outlets

  • The left-rated reports focused on the judge's reasoning for dismissing the lawsuit, specifically that the NCAA does not receive federal funding. Pink News highlighted that the judge found no evidence of the NCAA receiving federal funds, quoting her statement: “There is no evidence that the NCAA ever received, or could have received, federal funds. Thus, Plaintiffs’ Title IX claims cannot proceed.” The Pink News report also noted Gaines' stated goal to get the case before the Supreme Court and mentioned her prominence as a conservative media figure campaigning for restrictions on trans women and girls in sports. Erin In The Morning described the lawsuit as an effort "to further shake down the NCAA for not discriminating against transgender women hard enough." The Advocate referred to Riley Gaines as a "grifter" in its headline.

Centre

5 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated reports focused on the dismissal of the lawsuit and the judge's ruling regarding federal funding. U-S-NEWS.COM and The Beltway Report noted that Gaines plans to appeal the case with the ultimate goal of reaching the Supreme Court. UPI stated that a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of former and current college athletes against the NCAA. Dailymail.com mentioned that the legal challenge centered on the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships where Lia Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle.

Right

10 rated outlets

  • The right-rated reports focused on the dismissal of the lawsuit and the judge's ruling that the NCAA is not subject to Title IX. Many reports, including those from The College Fix, U-S-NEWS.COM, The Beltway Report, Concerned Women for America, YourNews.com, Breitbart, WFMD.com, NYTimespost.com, Fox News, and The Daily Wire, highlighted that the judge was appointed by President Biden. Concerned Women for America's headline stated: "Unjust Ruling: NCAA Allowed to Include Men in Women’s Sports, Now Congress Must Act." The Daily Wire's headline read: "Riley Gaines Responds To NCAA’s Latest Title IX Escape Hatch."

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Judge dismisses Riley Gaines' Title IX lawsuit against NCAA?
Of the 18 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 17% are rated left, 27% are rated centre, 56% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 20. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Judge dismisses Riley Gaines' Title IX lawsuit against NCAA left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 18 rated outlets on this story, 17% are rated left, 27% are rated centre, 56% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Judge dismisses Riley Gaines' Title IX lawsuit against NCAA biased?
Judge dismisses Riley Gaines' Title IX lawsuit against NCAA is one event reported by 20 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered Judge dismisses Riley Gaines' Title IX lawsuit against NCAA?
20 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
Why was Riley Gaines' lawsuit against the NCAA dismissed?
A federal judge dismissed Riley Gaines' Title IX lawsuit against the NCAA because the judge ruled that the NCAA does not receive federal funding. This lack of federal funding means the NCAA is not subject to Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
What is Riley Gaines' next step?
Riley Gaines has stated her intention to appeal the judge's ruling. Her stated goal is to take the case to the Supreme Court to challenge the NCAA's transgender-inclusive policies.
What was the basis of Riley Gaines' lawsuit?
Riley Gaines' lawsuit challenged the NCAA's policies that allow transgender athletes to compete in women's sports. She argued that these policies violated her rights under Title IX.

Read it at the source

20 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

3

Centre

5

Right

10
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Not rated

2

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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