Transgender Runner Slaps Swarthmore College With Federal Lawsuit
She's also suing the NCAA. Plus, Haverford woman scammed out of $800,000.
Left: Transgender runner Evie Parts, who has filed a federal lawsuit against Swarthmore College and the NCAA (photo via Swarthmore College) | Right: A sign at Swarthmore College (Getty Images)
Check phillymag.com each morning Monday through Thursday for the latest edition of Philly Today. And if you have a news tip for our hardworking Philly Mag reporters, please direct it here. You can also use that form to send us reader mail. We love reader mail!
Transgender Runner Evie Parts Files Federal Lawsuit Against Swarthmore College, NCAA
Transgender runner Evelyn “Evie” Parts has filed a federal lawsuit against Swarthmore College and the NCAA, alleging that the college illegally eliminated her from the women’s track team because she is transgender.
Parts, who recently graduated from Swarthmore College with a bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental studies, filed the lawsuit last week in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In it, she alleges that Swarthmore College banned her from running as a woman shortly after the NCAA issued its own ban on trans athletes in February. The suit argues that the NCAA is not a governmental organization and that its ban was “bigoted” and that it “subjected transgender women to segregation and ridicule.” In complying with the ban, Parts accuses Swarthmore College of violating Title IX and discriminating against her.
“In blatantly denying Evie her known rights to compete, the College’s actions constituted outrageous, reckless and wanton misconduct in violation of state and federal law,” reads the suit. According to the allegations contained in the suit, Swarthmore College allegedly told Parts that she could only compete for the school if she did so as a man, even though she has lived her life as a woman since her junior year of high school. Swarthmore College did reinstate her to the women’s team later in the school year, but, the suit argues, the damage was already done. The suit states that her removal from the team resulted in severe depression and a desire to commit suicide.
The suit accuses both Swarthmore College and the NCAA of intentional infliction of emotional distress and seeks unspecified damages.
In a statement, Swarthmore College insisted that the school “deeply values our transgender community members.”
“We recognize that this is an especially difficult and painful time for members of the transgender community, including student-athletes,” the statement continued. “We worked to support Evie Parts in a time of rapidly evolving guidance, while balancing the ability for other members of the women’s track team to compete in NCAA events. Given the pending litigation, we will not comment any further.”
A transgender runner filed a similar suit against Princeton University in July.
RIP the Keystone Line?
It sounds like all these drastic SEPTA cuts might be putting Amtrak’s Keystone Line in jeopardy. The popular Amtrak service goes between Harrisburg and New York and has about 1.2 million riders annually. The only good news in this is that the awful Harrisburg legislators who are withholding funding for SEPTA may soon have a harder time getting to New York.
Downashore
It might not be the best day for a swim at the Jersey Shore. Hurricane Erin isn’t going to hit the United States directly, but the effects are being felt at area beaches, some of which are banning swimming for the time being. Now if the hurricane could only wipe out those damn biting flies.
About That Shoplifting Conviction…
Have a criminal past? Pennsylvania just made it easier for you to attempt to get your record expunged. You used to have to fill out all this paperwork and mail it into the state. But you can now do it all online. Just keep your hands off the merchandise next time.
By the Numbers
19 percent: Increase that many Pennsylvanians may face in 2026 to their health insurance premiums. But, hey, we’re sure that means we won’t have to wait forever anymore to see a doctor, right?
$800,000: Money a Haverford woman says she was scammed out of after a pop-up window appeared on her computer screen. The pop-up apparently told her that her social security number was on gambling and porn sites on the internet and instructed her to call a phone number. And it all unfolded from there. Authorities say this could be part of a bigger scheme going on throughout the region.
48th: Season that Merrill Reese is entering into as the play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia Eagles. And he just signed a new multi-year contract extension. You can read my in-depth interview with Reese here.
Local Talent
Calling all Philly comedians! Philly’s own Kevin Hart is producing an eight-episode comedy competition for Netflix. It’s in the vein of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, and actually the folks behind that show are producing it with Hart. Unlike Last Comic Standing, though, the new show can be a little more rowdy and profane, since it’s to be on Netflix. No word yet on what the show is called or when it will air exactly – it’s expecting sometime in 2026 – but you can apply to be a part of it here. Good luck!
