Volleyball players and coach sue San Jose State, Mountain West for admitting transgender athletes
A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday in Colorado against the Mountain West and its commissioner, Gloria Nevarez, seeks emergency relief that would make a transgender women’s volleyball player from San Jose State ineligible for the upcoming conference tournament in Las Vegas on Nov. 27-30 .
The plaintiffs include San Jose State co-captain Brooke Slusser, assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose and two former Spartans players, as well as players from four other conference schools. They allege that the school and conference violated the U.S. Constitution and Title IX by allowing a transgender athlete to play for a women’s sports team and by suppressing the free speech rights of those who spoke out in protest.
San Jose State University, its head volleyball coach Todd Kress, and two school administrators, as well as the board of directors of the California State University system, are also named as defendants.
The controversy flared 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 her teammate’s gender identification. In the lawsuit, Slusser said the teammate, who was also her roommate, “was born male and identifies as a ‘transgender woman,’” and came out to her during a conversation in April.
Slusser has since spoken to numerous media outlets about her experiences with her teammate. The Athletics does not name the athlete because the athlete has not publicly identified himself.
A spokesperson for Mountain West did not return a message seeking comment.
“The Mountain West Conference prioritizes the interests of our student-athletes and takes great care to comply with NCAA and MW policies,” the conference said in a statement Thursday. “While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation regarding this specific situation, we take all concerns about the well-being and fairness of students and athletes seriously.”
In October, Nevarez told the Associated Press: “The student-athlete (in question) meets the eligibility standard, so if a team doesn’t play him, it’s a forfeit, meaning they lose.”
“We are not satisfied with the lawsuit. We received a copy of the 132-page document late Wednesday afternoon,” SJSU said in a statement. “We have no comment at this time.”
When the season started, several schools – Southern Utah, Boise State, Utah State, Wyoming and Nevada – lost games with the Spartans.
The lawsuit alleges that the Mountain West handbook originally did not include a policy for transgender athletes, but added a policy on September 27, around the same time the controversy exploded, stating that schools would be fined if they refused to play a game.
The lawsuit also alleges that during a meeting in April 2024, San Jose State officials instructed players not to discuss their teammate’s sex or gender identity outside the team.
According to the complaint, shortly after Slusser was first made public, an administrator reminded her that “speaking disrespectfully to the school or the NCAA would violate your letter of intent and could affect your scholarship,” which she interpreted as retaliation.
Two of the plaintiffs, former San Jose State walk-ons Elle Patterson and Alyssa Sugai, said in the lawsuit that they lost potential college scholarships to their transgender teammate in previous seasons because they didn’t get as much playing time while playing the same position . Patterson told her coaches that she could not afford to pay her own way for another season and left the team. Sugai transferred.
Neither knew the player identified as transgender when they arrived on campus, they said in the lawsuit.
“The reason (the transgender athlete) outperformed Sugai was not effort, but the retained male advantage, which Sugai could not match because Sugai is a woman,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit says Batie-Smoose, Kress’ head coach for two seasons, noted that Kress became “hostile” toward Slusser and herself after raising concerns about “preferential treatment” for the transgender athlete. On October 29, Batie-Smoose filed a Title IX complaint with San Jose State, the Mountain West and NCAA for alleged discrimination against women and gave an interview to an Australian website. Days later, the school suspended her.
The NCAA’s Transgender Participation Policy, adopted in 2022, states that transgender women may compete on women’s teams after completing a calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment if they meet the sport’s standard for documented testosterone levels prior to regular-season competition.
(Photo: David Buono / Icon Sportswire 2023)
