A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday in Colorado accuses the Mountain West and its commissioner, Gloria Nevarez, of hosting a transgender San Jose State women's volleyball player from Nov. 27-30 in Las Vegas. They are seeking emergency injunctive relief to declare them ineligible for the upcoming conference tournament.
The plaintiffs include San Jose State co-captain Brooke Slusser, assistant coach Melissa Batty Smooth, two former Spartans players, and players from four other conference schools. They say this school and conference violated the U.S. Constitution and Title IX by allowing transgender athletes to play on women's sports teams and suppressing the free speech rights of those who protested. Alleges that it is in violation.
San Jose State University, head volleyball coach Todd Kress, two school administrators and the California State University System Board of Trustees are also named as defendants.
The controversy intensified in September when Slusser, who transferred to San Jose State before the 2023 season, joined a federal lawsuit challenging the NCAA's transgender policy and went public with claims about his teammates' gender identities. Slusser said in her lawsuit that her teammate, who is also her roommate, was “born male and identifies as a 'transgender woman'” and came out during their conversation in April.
Since then, Slusser has spoken in numerous media outlets about his experience with his teammates. The Athletic The athlete is not being named because he has not been publicly identified.
A Mountain West spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
“The Mountain West Conference prioritizes the best interests of our student-athletes and takes great care in adhering to NCAA and MW policies,” the conference said in a statement Thursday. “While we cannot comment on pending litigation in this particular situation, we take seriously any concerns regarding the welfare and fairness of our student-athletes.”
“The student-athletes[in question]meet the eligibility criteria, so if the team doesn't play against them, it will be forfeited, or it will be a loss,” Nevarez told The Associated Press in October.
“We have not yet been served with the lawsuit. We obtained a copy of the 132-page document late Wednesday afternoon,” SJSU said in a statement. “We have no comment at this time.”
Once the season began, several schools waived games against the Spartans: Southern Utah, Boise State, Utah State, Wyoming and Nevada.
According to the complaint, the Mountain West's handbook did not initially include a policy for transgender athletes, but on Sept. 27, around the same time the controversy erupted, the school was forced to They claim that a policy has been added that requires them to leave the school.
The suit also alleges that San Jose State officials instructed players at an April 2024 meeting not to discuss their teammates' gender or gender identity outside of the team.
According to the suit, shortly after Slusser made her first public announcement, an administrator reminded her that “any comments that were disrespectful to the school or the NCAA were contrary to her stated intentions and could affect her scholarship.'' , she said she took it as retaliation.
Two of the plaintiffs, former San Jose State bye players Elle Patterson and Alyssa Sugai, allege in the lawsuit that a transgender teammate was given a scholarship the previous season because they played the same position but played fewer minutes. He said it was a missed opportunity for money. Patterson told his coach that he could not afford to pay for the next season himself and left the team. Sugai has transferred.
They said in the lawsuit that they did not know the athlete was transgender when they arrived on campus.
“The reason[the transgender athlete]outperformed Sugai was not because of his effort, but because of his preservation of male superiority, which Sugai could not match because he is a woman,” the suit states. There is.
Batty Smooth, who served as an associate head coach under Kress for two seasons, became “hostile” toward Slusser and himself after Kress raised concerns about “preferential treatment” for transgender players, according to the complaint. It is said that he observed that. On October 29, Batty Smooth filed a Title IX complaint with San Jose State, the Mountain West and the NCAA alleging discrimination against women and gave an interview to The Australian website. A few days later, the school suspended her.
The NCAA's Transgender Participation Policy, adopted in 2022, allows transgender women to complete one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment if their documented testosterone levels meet the sport's standards before a regular-season game. After that, it is stipulated that women's teams can participate.
(Photo: David Buono / Icon Sportswire 2023)
