Judge Rejects Bid to Block Transgender San Jose State Volleyball Player From Playing

San Jose State players in Fort Collins, Colo., on Oct. 3, 2024. David Zalubowski/AP Photo

A man who identifies as a woman can play in a women’s volleyball tournament in Las Vegas, according to a new ruling from a federal judge.

Players with San Jose State University, which the man plays for, and other schools did not show that they’re likely to prevail on constitutional claims, U.S. District Judge Kato Crews said in the Nov. 25 ruling.

“The movants have failed to meet their burden to show irreparable harm, a likelihood of success on the merits, or that the balance of harms or equities is in their favor,” Crews wrote.

Title IX, a federal law, prohibits barring transgender athletes from competition involving federal funding, Crews also said, pointing to previous rulings from other judges.

Rules in the Mountain West Conference, in which San Jose State participates, state that teams refusing to compete in intraconference contests in protest against transgender athletes shall forfeit the contests.

Multiple teams this year have forfeited matches against the San Jose State women’s volleyball team, which, according to court filings, includes a male who identifies as a woman.

Plaintiffs in the case, including San Jose State’s Brooke Slusser, had asked the court to rescind that policy, change the forfeited losses and the resulting wins for San Jose State, and block the transgender player from continuing to play in Mountain West Conference matches.

They argued that the male’s participation “violates Title IX’s equal opportunity guarantee that women will have an equal opportunity to compete on a level playing field.”

Crews said that the interpretation of Title IX “directly conflicts with Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination against trans individuals,” citing court precedent, including a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 2020.

Officials with the Mountain West Conference and San Jose State had opposed the request for an injunction, saying that Title IX bars discriminating against transgender people.

San Jose State will “continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms,” the university said in a statement to news outlets after the new ruling. “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 tournament is scheduled to start on Nov. 27. San Jose has a bye for the first round due to being seeded second. The school is slated to play on Friday.

The plaintiffs have filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.