U.S. Masters Swimming competitor Angie Griffin says she has been cleared of an unsportsmanlike-conduct grievance that left her wondering for eight months whether she would be expelled from the organization, simply for speaking out against trans athletes in women's competitions.
But Griffin says she still cannot access the organization’s online community forum—the same platform where she sought support for changing its transgender-athlete policy.
"I had the actual hearing last month, and in less than a week, I received the resolution, which was that I was not found guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct," Griffin told Fox News Digital.
The grievance stemmed from Griffin’s posts on the USMS community forum, where she advocated for aligning the organization’s eligibility rules more closely with World Aquatics and referred to a transgender competitor as a man. (Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images)
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"It was eight months of wondering if I was gonna be kicked out of swimming over a grievance that should have never been brought up in the first place."
The grievance stemmed from Griffin’s posts on the USMS community forum, where she advocated for aligning the organization’s eligibility rules more closely with World Aquatics and referred to a transgender competitor as a man.
USMS previously confirmed that an individual member—not the organization itself—filed a grievance related to its code of conduct. Griffin said at the time that the case could have resulted in the removal of her swimming times and honors or her expulsion from USMS.
That threat is now gone, Griffin said.
Her forum restriction is not.
"Unfortunately, I’m still banned from using the U.S. Masters community forum, which is the only place I can possibly discuss policy change with any other members," Griffin said. "I’m really upset about it because I was cleared of the wrongdoing, and I’m still not allowed back in the one place where members can discuss the policy."
"I’ve been silenced, basically," she added. "The forum’s the only way to reach other members around the country about policy issues."
Griffin emerged as a critic of USMS after competing against a transgender athlete at the organization’s 2025 Spring National Championship in San Antonio. Griffin previously said she did not learn the competitor’s birth sex until after the meet.
The controversy prompted intense scrutiny of the organization’s eligibility rules. USMS introduced an interim policy on July 1, 2025, before revising it again on Feb. 21, 2026.
Under the current policy, swimmers may participate in the competition category corresponding with their gender identity or expression. However, swimmers seeking national recognition in the women’s category—including records, Top 10 rankings and All-American or All-Star honors—must certify that they were female at birth.
Local awards and scoring can be handled differently in jurisdictions with nondiscrimination laws requiring recognition based on gender identity.
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Griffin contends the policy still fails to protect the women’s competition category because it allows biological males to race directly against female swimmers, even when they are ineligible for certain national honors.
She cited a recent Minnesota Masters state championship where she said a transgender athlete swept a women’s age-group category. Griffin said many USMS members remain unaware of how frequently the organization’s policy has changed or what its current rules allow.
"One of my teammates who feels the same way I do about the policy was at a meet down south, and she was shocked that so many members, women and men alike, had no idea that they had changed the policy three times since last year, or that they were even still allowing men to swim against women," Griffin said.
Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson's reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
