Judge sides with San Jose State volleyball in motion to ban trans player

A federal judge in Colorado ruled Monday that San Jose State can compete at the upcoming Mountain West Conference tournament in Las Vegas after a dispute involving a transgender athlete.

According to Front Office Sports, at least a dozen Mountain West conference players, including San Jose State's Brook Slusser, filed suit against the conference, its commissioner Gloria Nevarez and San Jose State administrators, as well as Spartans coach Todd Kress.

Multiple teams elected not to play against San Jose State this season amid claims the team had a transgender player. Mountain West schools Utah State, Nevada, Boise State and Wyoming refused to play the Spartans, resulting in forfeits. Nonconference opponent Southern Utah also elected to forfeit.

The Utah State program joined as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, according to the Front Office Sports report.

An unidentified San Jose State player, who has been with the program since 2022, was named in the filing. That player has not said she is transgender. Neither San Jose State nor the Mountain West Conference have said anything about the player's gender.

Judge Kato Crews cited NCAA Title IX policy that prohibits discrimination against transgender people.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Mountain West Conference had already implemented a policy that transgender women can compete if tests show levels of testosterone normal for females. The schools that forfeited to the Spartans had already agreed on the rules pertaining to trans players' eligibility, the judge noted.

The judge also questioned the timing of the emergency injunction, which was filed just before the conference tournament regarding a matter that had been established at the start of the season.

According to the Chronicle report, an appeal could be heard by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

--Field Level Media