Judge Allows San Jose State Volleyball Player to Compete

U.S.|Judge Allows San Jose State Volleyball Player to Compete

A volleyball player at San Jose State can continue to compete on the women’s team, despite complaints from other players who object to the participation of an athlete who they say is transgender. The decision by a federal judge in Colorado came on Monday, two days before a conference tournament involving the team was set to begin.

Players for other colleges in San Jose State’s conference, the Mountain West, filed a lawsuit seeking to bar the player from competition. They were joined by some people affiliated with San Jose State, including a current co-captain of the team, former players and a recently suspended assistant coach.

The plaintiffs argued that allowing the player to participate in the tournament would be discriminatory against women by denying them equal opportunities. The plaintiffs requested an injunction to stop the player from competing, a request that was denied on Monday by the judge. It was unclear whether the plaintiffs would appeal the ruling.

The decision by Judge S. Kato Crews, an appointee of President Biden to the U.S. District Court in Colorado, was the latest chapter in the fierce national debate about whether transgender athletes, particularly transgender women, should be allowed to compete on teams that align with their gender identity.

The San Jose State player has not spoken publicly about how she identifies, and could not be reached for comment. The university has not publicly confirmed whether the volleyball team has a transgender player, citing educational privacy laws.

The player has been a member of the San Jose State Spartans, a Division I team, since the 2022 season.

The suit followed a series of protests by four conference teams that refused to compete against San Jose State this season, resulting in forfeits in conference play for those schools. (Southern Utah, in the Western Athletic Conference, also forfeited a match.)

The Mountain West’s records show that those four conference schools competed against San Jose State in previous seasons when the same player was on the team.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Amy Harmon contributed reporting.