A transgender female athlete sued Swarthmore College on Thursday, alleging the college violated Title IX when it banned her from competing on the women’s track and field team earlier this year.

Swarthmore informed the student, Evelyn “Evie” Parts, in February that she could no longer race for the women’s team in light of National Collegiate Athletic Association policy, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. The NCAA on Feb. 6 had barred transgender women from competing in varsity sports in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump and threatened sanctions against member schools that didn’t follow the policy.

Parts, who first began racing for Swarthmore in August 2020, was told by school officials that she could either run as part of the men’s team, or run unattached to the college, according to the lawsuit — meaning she would not be able to receive coaching, medical treatment, or transportation, and would have to pay for her own entry to races.

Parts was named a captain of the women’s track team last fall, and she graduated from Swarthmore in May.

The lawsuit said the directive barring her from the team caused severe emotional damage for Parts — who started hormone replacement therapy during her junior year of high school and whose “birth certificate, Social Security card and driver’s license confirm” her sex as female. Later in February, Parts “commenced engaging in self-harm” by cutting herself with a razor, the lawsuit says; in April, she told a friend she wanted to kill herself.

The lawsuit — which identified Parts as the only transgender female athlete at Swarthmore — comes as colleges have been caught in the crosshairs of the Trump administration’s conservative agenda.

The University of Pennsylvania earlier this summer struck a deal with the Trump administration, agreeing to apologize to female athletes who objected to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas’ participation on their team. The university also agreed to restore records and honors the women would have won if not for Thomas, and said that for athletics, it would adhere to the definition of male and female in one of Trump’s executive orders.

The White House had paused $175 million in federal funding to Penn, citing Thomas’ participation, and funding was restored after the university reached an agreement with the administration.

The NCAA adopted its policy limiting competition in women’s sports to athletes assigned female at birth in response to Trump‘s executive order that threatened to pull funding from schools that allowed transgender women to compete in women’s sports.

In her lawsuit, Parts accused Swarthmore of disregarding federal and state law in adopting the NCAA policy. Regulations enacted by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in 2023 bar discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

According to the lawsuit, administrators told Parts that their counsel “could not find any way that federal or Pennsylvania state law superseded the NCAA ban on transgender athletes.”

The NCAA is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which says the organization showed a “reckless indifference to Evie’s rights as a woman” and illegally deprived her of equal opportunity.

“We stand by the allegations in the complaint,” Parts’ lawyer, Susie Cirilli, said Friday. “The NCAA is a private organization that issued a bigoted policy. Swarthmore College chose to follow that policy and disregard federal and state law.”

Spokespeople for Swarthmore did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. The NCAA national office declined to comment.

The lawsuit alleges that Swarthmore knew it was discriminating against Parts. Her sibling, Winter Parts, a nonbinary runner who had also raced for Swarthmore, individually called school administrators to advocate for their sister’s well-being, according to the complaint.

After Evie Parts got a lawyer, Swarthmore on April 11 “fully reinstated” her to compete on the women’s track team, according to the lawsuit. It doesn’t specify why the college made that decision, or what it communicated to Parts. It’s also not clear if the college faced repercussions from the NCAA or the federal government for allowing Parts to continue competing.

Two months earlier, Valerie Gomez, Swarthmore’s associate director of athletics, acknowledged the distress the ban was causing Parts, according to the lawsuit. It quotes an email from Gomez to the NCAA, describing how “many of us vehemently disagree with this transgender ban.”

“The damage — emotional and otherwise — that this causes some of our student-athletes is immeasurable and unfair,” Gomez said in the email, according to the lawsuit.

Newport Beach will be the hub of American volleyball later this fall, the city hosting two major tournaments this October that will invite beach volleyball superstars, Olympians and legends for the world’s largest single-week prize of $550,000.

The volleyball festivities begin with the five-day Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite 16, held from Oct. 7 to Oct. 11. Eagle Four Partners and USA Volleyball have partnered for the event, working for the first time in history alongside Volleyball World and the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball for one of the most exclusive beach volleyball events of the year. It is the first time an elite-level international tour of this magnitude has been held in the United States since 2018. There is a $300,000 total payout for both genders.

“This is beach volleyball’s equivalent of a ‘major’ in tennis or golf. Just as all eyes turn to Wimbledon or The U.S. Open, this combined beach volleyball homecoming will be historic,” Kevin Martin of Eagle Four Partners and event co-founder said in a statement. “The world’s top 16 women’s and men’s pairs will have a new champion crowned on Saturday, but it will be the fusion of international and domestic stars that will captivate crowds on Sunday.”

A few dozen miles north of Newport Beach, Los Angeles is preparing to host the Olympic Games in 2028. As it approaches, Southern Californians can expect several events held by sports organizations such as USA Volleyball.

“Newport Beach isn’t just hosting a tournament; it’s launching USA Volleyball’s road to the LA28 Olympic Games,” said John Speraw, president and CEO of USA Volleyball. “This is the first of many world-class events we plan to bring to Southern California as we build excitement and momentum for 2028. With Olympians and legends sharing the sand, fans will experience the past, present and future of beach volleyball all in one unforgettable week.”

The volleyball offerings do not end there. On Sunday, Oct. 12, the city will host the third annual $250,000 Newport Beach Volleyball Invitational, the program including US Olympians Phil Dalhausser, Taylor Crabb, Kelly Cheng, and Kristen Nuss among the leading four-man teams in one of the most grueling single-day brackets in the world.

“If you’re a fan of the game, the Newport Beach pier is going to be rocking all week as spectators feast on the best beach volleyball event anywhere in the world in 2025,” Steve Obradovich, AVP Hall of Famer and co-founder of the Newport Beach Volleyball Invitational said in a statement. “We’re fired up to have Phil Dalhausser and Taylor Crabb leading two of the men’s teams and Kelly Cheng and Kristen Nuss leading two of the women’s teams in the Invitational. They’ll earn their share of $250,000 trying to survive the toughest single-day volleyball competition on the planet.”

There is free, first-come, first-served seating on the sand along the shores of the ocean for fans, as well as VIP and “Sand Suite” tickets. The VIP tickets are $670 and include all days of the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 and the Newport Beach Volleyball Invitational, offering premium access with unobstructed views to both courts and a private VIP bar under a shaded tent, beverage sampling and vendor giveaways.

For more information, fans can visit nbvolleyball.com for tickets.

At Laguna Beach High School, the grass is greener — and safer — thanks to a million-dollar upgrade replacing the campus’ decade-old turf track and field with environmentally-friendly options that feel like natural grass while reducing upkeep and the risk of athletic injuries.

The $1.165 million project features a new track surface overlay and Shaw Sports Turf with Geofill, a natural infill made of 80 percent coconut husks and 20 percent sand. Free of petroleum and other harmful chemicals, the new field offers cooler surface temperatures in hot weather and better traction in all conditions, translating into more opportunities for practices and games.

Laguna Beach Unified School District officials noted that the project was completed in just four weeks due to a manufacturing process that wove field lines and graphics directly into the turf before delivery. The work was carefully scheduled to avoid disruptions to its year-round community sports and athletics activities.

“As one of the few shared-use playing fields in the city, this stadium is an important resource for school and community athletics,” said Ryan Zajda, facilities and sustainability director at Laguna Beach Unified.

The new field will hold its first game on Aug. 29, when the Laguna Beach Breakers host Santa Monica High School in their season home opener. Before kickoff at 7 p.m., district leaders will celebrate the debut of the upgraded facility in a brief 50-yard-line ceremony.

“This project is a thoughtful investment that will keep our kids active, our community connected and enhance the health and wellness of our students and neighbors,” said Laguna Beach Board President Dee Perry.

The scrimmage is free and open to the public.

The Bobcats return twelve players that were in the practice gym spring semester. Coupled with six freshmen and redshirt opposite hitter Makenzie Jackson, Head Coach Matt Houk and the rest of the Bobcat coaching staff are cautiously optimistic heading into the season which gets underway August 29-31with a home tournament in Shroyer Gym featuring Big 10 power Oregon, South Dakota and Prairie View A&M.