Texas AG Ken Paxton sues swimming group over inclusion of transgender women

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against a swimming organization over its inclusion of transgender women — despite the group agreeing to make them ineligible to receive records.

Paxton announced the lawsuit against U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS) on Thursday, alleging in a statement that the organization has supposedly "cowered to radical activists pushing gender warfare, and it has deprived female participants of the opportunity to succeed at the highest levels." However, the suit does not accuse the group of violating any laws surround trans participation in athletics, but rather of violating consumer protection laws.

Paxton's office launched an investigation into USMS in May after two trans women were allowed to participate in a swim meet in San Antonio in April and won some of the competitions, according to the lawsuit. USMS agreed to implement an “interim eligibility policy" as of July 1 that made trans women ineligible to receive records or any awards in the women's category. The lawsuit claimed the policy is "too little, too late.”

Texas has banned trans students from participating in sports based on their gender identities, but has no law that prohibits trans adults from competitions or teams, such as USMS, an adult organization with over 60,000 members.

A comprehensive review of several studies on trans participation in sports under their gender identity found that trans athletes, post transition, are "more similar to their gender identity." It noted that both transgender and cisgender athletes show great variations in ability.

USMS said in a statement via The Dallas Morning News that it was caught off guard by the lawsuit, as it had been working with Paxton's office. The organization also said that it was given no notice of the filing, and first learned of the suit via social media.

“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," USMS said.