DENVER — Eleven female athletes and a coach have asked a court to bar a transgender player from competing in the Mountain West Volleyball Championship, arguing that allowing a male-born athlete to compete in women’s collegiate sports violates Title IX.
The groundbreaking lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado seeks an injunction prohibiting San Jose State University from bringing star player Blaire Fleming to the finals scheduled for Nov. 27-30 in Las Vegas.
{snip}
That means the four Mountain West teams that were assessed losses for forfeiting matches against San Jose State would instead receive neutral “no contests.” San Jose State is currently ranked second in the 11-school conference.
“SJSU played Fleming, an ineligible player, in every game in which it competed this year, meaning that SJSU should not have any wins and should not be considered eligible for the MWC tournament,” said the complaint.
The lawsuit is believed to be the first legal challenge seeking to have a transgender student declared ineligible for NCAA women’s sports — and the athlete’s team penalized—but the claims for relief extend well beyond this month’s tournament.
The filing also levies allegations of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, viewpoint discrimination, and free-speech violations against the Mountain West Conference and commissioner; the California State University Board of Trustees; and several SJSU officials.
Bringing the complaint are 11 current and former players from five universities and SJSU associate volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose, who was suspended last month after filing a Title IX complaint about Fleming’s status with the NCAA, the conference and the university.
{snip}
“The NCAA, Mountain West Conference, university presidents and college athletic directors around the country are failing women,” Mr. Bock said. “Because the administrators don’t have the courage to do their jobs, we must ask the federal courts to do their jobs for them.”
Robin McElhatton, San Jose State spokesperson, declined to comment, saying the university has not yet been served with the lawsuit and did not obtain a copy until late Wednesday afternoon.
The detailed complaint offers a window into the drama taking place behind the scenes as San Jose players belatedly discovered that their teammate was a biological male and university officials urged them to keep quiet even as other teams began canceling matches.
San Jose State has never publicly acknowledged that Fleming is transgender, but the lawsuit said MWC has assessed forfeits to the boycotting teams under its Transgender Participation Policy after stealth-adding it to the conference’s online handbook on Sept. 27.
That was the day that Boise State became the first MWC university to boycott its match against San Jose State.
{snip}
The policy also said that universities are not obligated to notify the conference or other schools about the status of a transgender athlete, or answer questions about the player from other programs.
The Washington Times has reached out for comment to the Mountain West, an NCAA Division I conference based in Colorado Springs.
As a result of the policy, players at Utah State University and the University of Nevada, Reno, said they came under pressure from school officials to play against San Jose State. Both teams wound up boycotting anyway.
At Reno, the volleyball team refused to play even though the athletic director urged them to do so, telling the players that “transwomen are at a disadvantage” because they are “taking testosterone blockers and estrogen,” the lawsuit said.
Transgender players are required to keep their testosterone in serum below 10 nmol/L throughout the season to compete in women’s volleyball under NCAA rules.
San Jose State’s decision to add Fleming to the team as a transfer in 2022 meant that two players lost out on scholarships.
Alyssa Sugai, who played as a walk-on in 2021, said she stuck with the team in 2022 in hopes of earning a scholarship in her final year of eligibility, but that Fleming beat her out for the position of starting right-side hitter.
{snip}
At the end of the season, however, head coach Todd Kress told Patterson she would not given a scholarship, while Fleming received a full ride.
“Because Fleming and Patterson played the same position, had Fleming not been on the team Patterson would have received a full scholarship to play on the SJSU Team during both the 2023 and 2024 seasons,” the lawsuit said.
In addition, the players were not informed that Fleming was a biological male, even though they shared a women’s locker room. Fleming never changed clothes in front of the other players, but they sometimes disrobed in front of Fleming, the lawsuit said.
“Sugai was deprived of the opportunity to make an informed choice of whether to disrobe in front of Fleming, a trans-identifying male, because no SJSU coach or staff member informed Sugai of Fleming’s true sex,” said the lawsuit.
Fleming’s transgender identity became public with the posting of an April 2024 article in Reduxx. Afterward, university officials held a meeting telling the athletes not to discuss the situation outside the team.
The players were also told that “criticism of Fleming or his participation on the SJSU Team would indicate bigotry and harm their reputation and could subject them to discipline or loss of their scholarship and could be considered a violation of school policies or state law,” the lawsuit said.
Spartans co-captain Brooke Slusser said she and Fleming were frequently assigned to room together on road trips during the 2023 season. She later learned that the coaching staff allowed Fleming to select a roommate.
{snip}
Slusser also complained to the head coach that Fleming’s superior strength put female opponents and teammates at risk, but the filing said that “no steps” have been taken to protect the players.
* Original Article:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/nov/14/players-ask-court-boot-transgender-athlete-women-c/?utm_source=smartnews.com&utm_medium=smartnews&utm_campaign=smartnews%20