At 10:30 on August 25, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares held a press conference at the Salem library to reveal his office’s investigation into alleged abuse by Roanoke College officials against members of the 2023-24 women’s swim team.
About twenty people attended the event, including five Roanoke County elected officials, some local media, and members of Miyares’ office and campaign staff. No one from Roanoke College administration was present.
Bill Bock, attorney for two members of the swim team, opened the conference by pointing out the unfairness the lady swimmers had faced. “Publically-available data indicates that about 54.4% of Roanoke College’s full-time students are female. Yet some 58% of varsity athletic roster spots at Roanoke College are on male teams. That means that males at Roanoke College have more than one hundred more varsity roster spots than do females, even though about 45% of the entire student population is male.”
Bock added that two members of the team “filed discrimination claims with the Virginia Attorney General because in 2023, not only did Roanoke College have far fewer varsity athletic roster spots for women than men, but that year Roanoke College actively supported a former swimmer from the (…) men’s swim team moving over to the women’s swim team, merely because this man claimed a female gender identity.
“This action by Roanoke College took the already-existing sex discrimination in Roanoke College’s athletic program to another level. Not only would the male swimmer take a roster spot on the women’s team, but that man had undeniable physical performance advantages that would deprive female athletes of the opportunity to fairly compete for placements.”
Seeking relief, the women swimmers approached school officials and eventually went public with a news conference in October 2023 that made international headlines. But instead of supporting the lady athletes, Bock claims school top brass doubled down and launched a vindictive witch hunt.
Bock: “For standing up to the Roanoke College administration and Board of Trustees, and taking a public stand for women’s rights, the Roanoke women’s swimmers paid a heavy price. The school allowed an ongoing, two-yearcampaign of hostility and intimidation to be directed against these young women, which included direct retaliation (…) and depriving educational opportunities (…) for which they were qualified.
“It is hard to imagine more reprehensible conduct from an institution that claims to uphold ideals of diversity of thought and academic fairness and freedom.”
Bock explained that one of the claimants he represented, former team captain Lily Mullens, agreed to be named publicly, and she also asked for the Attorney General to make public his investigation findings.
The 46-page report from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) can be found at the bottom of this page.
Bock called the report a “landmark legal victory for college women athletes.”
Bock explained: “First, Attorney General Miyares has found that policies that allow men to take women’s places on women’s college sports teams constitute sex discrimination and are unlawful.
“Second, Miyares has found that Lily Mullens and her teammates were injured by Roanoke College’s sex discrimination and are entitled to pursue monetary damages against Roanoke College.
“Third, and perhaps most shamefully for Roanoke College, Miyres has found that the evidence supports a finding of retaliation by Roanoke College against its own students and its own women athletes merely because these young women courageously stood up for their legal rights.”
After Bock’s eight-minute discourse, Attorney General Miyares took the podium, where he leveled a withering, eight-minute barrage of accusations against the school administration. He claimed, “sports by nature are something that unite us, but also they teach us so many life skills. These women have shown extraordinary ability in leadership and courage in the face of (…) hostility against common sense.”
Miyares continued: “Following an investigation by my Office of Civil Rights, we have found reasonable cause that Roanoke College has indeed violated both the Virginia Human Rights Act and Title IX by both discriminating and retaliating against student athletes on the basis of sex.
“In August of 2023, Roanoke College told the women’s swim team that a biological male was joining their team. (…) These female swimmers unanimously objected to this, citing fairness in competition.
“In the following weeks, this male swimmer went on to dominate their times in the pool, and also skipped practices without consequences, a special privilege none of the women were also afforded.
“Demoralized by the disparities and expectations and their treatment, these brave female swimmers met repeatedly with the athletic director (…) and wrote letters to the president of the college as well.
“Roanoke College ignored their objections, and they insisted on keeping the male on the women’s team, and after he quit the women’s team, they pretended he was never actually on the team, but these women swimmers knew better.
“And when the women’s team had the courage to speak out publicly on this travesty, Roanoke College retaliated, denying multiple female swimmers, some with over a 4.0 GPA, their applications to a study abroad program.
“Pursuant to our exhaustive investigation, my Office of Civil Rights has concluded that Roanoke College did indeed deny the female swimmers privileges granted to the male swimmer, and actually retaliated against them by depriving them of their study abroad opportunities.
“These actions not only just violate the Virginia Human Rights Act, they also violated Title IX, of the Educational Amendments of 1972.”
Miyares claimed his findings are “grounded on law, the demonstrated athletic advantage of male puberty, and also in common sense. Men and women in competitive sports are separated for a reason (…) Male puberty changes muscle mass, size, and aerobic capacity.
“That’s just basic biology, and it matters so much in competition.”
Miyares lamented that the female swimmers “endured two years of hate, for just having common sense. They endured two years of hostility, just for their desire to maintain an even playing field. They endured two years of harassment just for speaking out and advocating for themselves. They received death threats to the point where they can only travel around the campus in groups. (…) The women’s swim team endured, and is still enduring, emotional, physical, and dignitary harm because of Roanoke College’s failure to follow the law and frankly, Roanoke College’s failure to care about these star athletes, these amazing students, these amazing women leaders.
“Not one public statement, issued by Roanoke College, expressed concern or support for the women. They were left to fend for themselves.
“It’s not about partisan ideologies, it’s about fairness, it’s about common sense.
“To these remarkable female athletes, your school has failed you. Your classmates that bullied and provided threats against you, have failed you. They have belittled you. You have been ignored too long.”
Miyares wrapped up by categorically declaring: “Roanoke College violated the Virginia Human Rights Act and Title IX. (…) For every time you allow a boy who previously was not able to compete and win in the men’s team to switch over to the women’s team, what you have done is you have taken a slot from a deserving woman. (…) That is wrong.”
“Pledging continued support from the OAG, Miyares claimed, “where your school has failed you, we will not, and will be your voice, when others were too cowardly to provide you that voice.”
Miyares then invited Cady Mullens, mother of former team captain Lily Mullens, to take the podium. Lily was unable to attend due to work, but you can read Lily’s blistering remarks in full here.
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In a statement issued later that day, Roanoke College President Frank Shushok Jr. “categorically denies the unsubstantiated allegation that its trustees, faculty, staff, coaches, or administration violated the human rights of any students or retaliated against them in any way.”
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The Roanoke College women’s swim team went public with their concerns at Hotel Roanoke on October 5, 2023, at a press conference introduced by Riley Gaines. The statements from the swimmers are summarized in Roanoke Star articles Parts One, Two, Three, and Four.
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Miyares is Virginia’s first Attorney General of Hispanic background, his mother having fled communist Cuba for the freedom of the USA. A Republican, Miyares is facing re-election this fall against his Democrat challenger, Jay Jones of Norfolk.
–Scott Dreyer
