A transgender sprinter is suing the National Collegiate Athletic Association and SUNY Geneseo college, claiming they discriminated against her by barring her from competing in a track event, despite knowing that the NCAA's 2025 transgender exclusion policy violates New York state law.

Officials at the State University of New York, College at Geneseo and the NCAA conspired to keep Sadie Schreiner, an athlete who has competed in several collegiate events, from participating in the women's 200-meter and 400-meter races at the SUNY Geneseo Early Invitational, according to the two separate lawsuits Schreiner filed in New York state courts Friday.

The NCAA essentially "coerced" the school into compliance, according to the lawsuit directed at the association. Specifically, a SUNY Geneseo athletic official told Schreiner she could not compete because the NCAA had warned them that the organization would invalidate any women's track event for all competitors if it learned that a trans athlete had participated in it, the suit said.

"The NCAA compelled and coerced SUNY Geneseo and the other defendants to discriminate against Sadie Schreiner by excluding Sadie from competing in the Geneseo Early Invitational," the suit said.

The lawsuit aimed at SUNY criticized the school's choice to enforce the NCAA's policy, issued in February, prohibiting transgender women from competing in women's events, because officials understood that the rule ran afoul of New York state law, according to the lawsuit aimed at SUNY Geneseo.

In fact, the NCAA acknowledges that its ban might be prohibited in certain states and "reminds educational institutions that local and state laws still apply and do in fact supersede any NCAA rules," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit seeks damages against the school and NCAA for violations of the New York State Human Rights Law Section 296, which prohibits discrimination based on gender including "the status of being transgender," the suit said. It also claims damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suits were filed separately, one naming New York and the college as defendants while the other names the NCAA and school officials Dani Drews, the director of intercollegiate athletics, and Christopher Popovici, head coach of track and field, as defendants.

A representative for the NCAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. A representative for SUNY Geneseo declined to comment.

Schreiner's attorney Susan M. Cirilli of Cirilli LLC told Law360 on Monday that the track meet at issue "was open to members of the public. SUNY Geneseo violated New York state law when it excluded Sadie because she is a transgender woman."

"We stand by the allegations in the complaint," Cirilli said in a statement. "The NCAA actively participated in aiding and abetting SUNY Geneseo in affecting the discrimination against Sadie."

This is not the first collegiate women's meet that Schreiner, who transitioned during high school, has been blocked from participating in. She previously competed at Rochester Institute of Technology and won a bronze medal at the women's NCAA Division III nationals in 2024. But Schreiner was blocked by Princeton University on May 3 from participating in an open meet, according to her discrimination lawsuit filed in New Jersey state court. School officials there removed her from the starting lineup shortly before the race was set to begin because she was a trans woman, the suit said. Those Princeton officials suggested putting her in a separate segregated event, the suit said.

Schreiner's most recent suit makes similar allegations.

In March, she attempted to register in two women's races at the SUNY Geneseo Early Invitational as an "unattached" athlete, meaning not specifically competing for any university, the suit said. On March 29, she emailed Christopher Popovici, head coach and defendant in the suit, with her qualifying times. But he responded on March 31 that she couldn't compete in the race, explicitly pointing to NCAA policy.

"Even as an unattached athlete, you would need to compete in your birth gender category as a competitor under that set of rules," Popovici said, according to the lawsuit. "If I were to not follow the NCAA meet procedures, it opens the meet up or event up to being invalidated for all the competitors."

Popovici offered her to compete as a man or in an exhibition event where she would compete by herself, the suit said.

"Defendants acted with wanton and willful disregard for the rights of Sadie, who was foreseeably harmed by the act of aiding and abetting the unlawful actions of SUNY Geneseo by excluding her from the women's 200 and 400 meter races because she is a transgender woman," the suit said. "As a direct result of defendants' actions, plaintiff has suffered inter alia severe and continuing emotional distress, humiliation and embarrassment."

Counsel information for the college, NCAA and the officials wasn't immediately available Monday.

Schreiner is represented by Susan M. Cirilli of Cirilli LLC.

The cases are Sadie Schreiner v. New York State et al., case number E25-6526, in the State of New York County of Livingston, Court of Claims Rochester District, and Sadie Schreiner v. National Collegiate Athletic Association et al., case number 000884-2025, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York County of Livingston.

--Editing by Stephen Berg.