The San Jose State Spartans women’s volleyball team will still compete in the Mountain West Tournament this week, after a judge just refused to rule the team out of the tournament following a lawsuit from nine players over a supposedly transgender player.
San Jose State has become the most talked-about NCAA women’s volleyball team in the country, a limelight for which they surely did not wish. But the national attention has come because of a lawsuit from nine players against the school and the Mountain West Conference for allowing an alleged transgender player on the San Jose State team, which the players claim creates a competitive imbalance and physical danger.
The plaintiff’s attorneys had filed an injunction hoping to block the San Jose State Spartans from playing in this week’s Mountain West Tournament. But the Associated Press reports that on Monday, a US Magistrate Judge in Denver refused to eliminate San Jose State from the tournament.
It is not confirmed whether the player in question is transgender, and the player has not commented publicly. According to the AP, Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews “referred to the athlete as an ‘alleged transgender’ player in his ruling and noted that no defendant disputed that San Jose State rosters a transgender woman volleyball player.”
The player has been playing NCAA women’s volleyball for the last three years, the last two of which were at San Jose State. There had not been previous complaints about the player from opponents until this season.
San Jose State has already won several games by forfeit over the controversy. First Southern Utah refused to play the Spartans and forfeited, followed by forfeits from Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State, and Nevada. Nevada players released a statement saying they “refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes,” though did not provide further details.
And so the Mountain West Conference Tournament will still begin Wednesday, then continue on Friday and Saturday, with San Jose State as the No. 2 seed.
Image: COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO - OCTOBER 19: San Jose State Spartans players look on prior to the game against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
