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Fact Check: Has Riley Gaines Really Reached USD 50 Million Settlement With NCAA in Lia Thompson Lawsuit?
Debunking the viral claim of Riley Gaines and the alleged USD50 Million NCAA settlement. Read to know the truth.
Riley Gaines, a former competitive swimmer, allegedly received a $50 million settlement from the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), according to recent online posts. In the case, Gaines and other female athletes allegedly contested the NCAA's decision to permit transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to participate in women's sports. These assertions, however, are unsupported and deceptive.
On July 23, 2024, a social media post claimed that Gaines had "scored a victory against the NCAA," which sparked rumors regarding the settlement. According to the post, Gaines received a $50 million settlement for "unfair distribution of medals," and critics of "wokeness" and "sporting inequalities" celebrated this as a major victory. Many people were led to believe that the settlement had truly happened after the post got a lot of attention.
Gaines did launch a lawsuit against the NCAA and the University of Georgia system in March 2024, along with over a dozen other active and retired female athletes. The complaint alleges that allowing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to participate in women's sports violated the Title IX rights of female athletes. Sex-based discrimination is prohibited in any program or activity that receives government support for education under the federal Title IX legislation.
As of August 8, 2024, no news or court filings suggested that a settlement had been made; the lawsuit is still pending, according to federal court records, and no reliable news source has reported on its settlement.
The major information regarding the purported $50 million settlement appears to have come from USAMode24, a website that featured an article with an inaccurate headline. This website has been associated with false narratives before; Reuters has already disproved another misleading tale from the same source.
Furthermore, the lawsuit's complaint, which is available via the Independent Council on Women's Sport (ICONS), makes no mention of the "unfair distribution of medals" that was alluded to in the posts on social media. A supporter of the legal action against the NCAA, ICONS is an advocacy group that seeks to "promote and protect women’s sports."
The NCAA and Riley Gaines' agents have not made any formal announcements confirming the settlement, which has further clouded the situation. Gaines has been vocal on social media about her grievance with the NCAA, but she hasn't offered any details about a settlement or other resolution. With no credible references or official legal evidence, it is clear that the $50 million settlement assertion is untrue.
It appears that the baseless reports Riley Gaines got a $50 million settlement with the NCAA are part of a bigger effort to spread misleading information. There is no evidence that a settlement has been reached, and the matter is still pending. As the case develops, one must rely on trustworthy news sources and official court papers for the most recent facts.
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