A federal judge ruled Monday that a San José State volleyball player, who teammates say is transgender, can continue to participate in a volleyball tournament this week.
The ruling by Judge S. Kato Crews, an appointee of President Biden to the U.S. District Court in Colorado, comes ahead of the three-day Mountain West Conference women’s volleyball championship in Las Vegas that is set to begin Wednesday.
The federal lawsuit filed on behalf of several volleyball players, including former students and a San José State associate head coach, not only sought to ban the player from participating in the tournament but also to rescind wins granted to San José State’s volleyball team after previous rival teams forfeited matches due to the participation of the transgender player.
At least four universities forfeited matches against San José State following controversy over the player.
The player, who has been on the team’s roster since 2022, could not immediately be reached for comment and has not spoken publicly about the issue.
Neither Brooke Slusser, one of the plaintiffs in the case and a San José State volleyball player who has been critical of her teammate, nor Slusser’s attorney, Justin Ross Olson, could be reached immediately for comment.
“I just don’t think it’s right in women’s sports,” Slusser told Fox KTVU this week. “It has nothing to do with the way someone wants to live their life day to day, that’s not an issue. But when it comes to the fairness and safety of women playing, there’s a reason there’s two different divisions for women and men.”
San José State said in a written statement that it will continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms.
“All San José State University student-athletes are eligible to participate in their sports under NCAA and Mountain West Conference rules,” the statement read. “We are gratified that the Court rejected an eleventh-hour attempt to change those rules. Our team looks forward to competing in the Mountain West volleyball tournament this week.”
“The California State University, the public university system, said in a written statement that it fully supports its student-athletes and their right to play and compete in the sports they love,” the statement continued.
“We applaud the court’s decision and will be cheering on the San José State University volleyball team as they continue to compete for a championship in the Mountain West Conference tournament,” the statement read.
Javan Hedlund, senior associate commissioner, said the Mountain West Conference approved of the judge’s decision and would continue to uphold the policies put in place by the board of directors, which aligns with NCAA and USA Volleyball.
“We are excited to proceed with the Mountain West Conference Women’s Volleyball Championship and celebrate and spotlight our student-athlete’s hard work and competitive spirit,” Hedlund said.
The lawsuit, filed two weeks ago, is the latest in the ongoing debate about transgender athletes, particularly transgender women competing in women’s sports.
It comes a month after a video showing a play in which the player is seen spiking a ball, hitting a San Diego State player in the arm and briefly knocking her down. The San Diego State player, Keira Herron, a junior, successfully kept the ball in play with the dig and immediately stood up and smiled.
But the play circulated on social media accompanied by claims that the San Diego State player was hit on the head and that the San Jose State player is transgender.
President-elect Donald Trump, who has previously referenced the video, said he plans to ban all transgender women from competing in women’s sports.
Plaintiffs in the case accused San José State of recruiting a transgender player and argued that allowing the player to participate in the tournament discriminates against female athletes and deprives them of equal opportunities, including access to playing time and scholarships.
In his ruling, Crews said the Mountain West Conference Board of Directors had approved a Transgender Participation Policy in 2022 when the player was also on the roster and because no issues were raised ahead of the tournament, the plaintiffs then failed to meet their burden to show irreparable harm had been caused.
“Until the filing of this lawsuit, there was no dispute between the parties over the applicability or enforceability of the [Transgender Participation Policy],” Crews wrote. “Concerning SJSU’s alleged trans teammate, she has been a member of the team since the 2022 season and has played on the team each season since.”
“It was not until the spring of 2024, at the earliest, that questions arose from Plaintiffs regarding her gender.”
