The San Jose State University women’s volleyball team faces inner turmoil over a transgender player on the team.
Team captain Brooke Slusser has filed a lawsuit against the university demanding that the transgender player be removed from the team before the Mountain West Championship at the end of the month.
Driving the news: San Jose State player Blaire Fleming, who is transgender has been a controversial figure across college athletics all season.
- Several teams have forfeited games against San Jose State this season with Fleming on the team.
The big picture: Slusser and other athletes across the Mountain West are claiming the conference is breaking the law by allowing Fleming to play on the team.
- The lawsuit aims to have the Mountain West declare biological males ineligible to compete in women’s athletics.
- The lawsuit claims that San Jose State administrators told the volleyball team not to discuss Fleming being transgender once the news started to spread earlier this year.
- Some of the players on the team claim in the lawsuit that they only found out about Fleming when rumors started to spread on campus and were upset they were not informed by the university.
- The lawsuit argues that the Mountain West has adopted a new Transgender Participation Policy to allow Fleming to play.
Go deeper: According to the lawsuit, Fleming spikes the ball 80 miles per hour faster than any female athlete in the Mountain West, which Slusser argues that it puts players at risk for concussions.
- Further, San Jose State associate head volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose joined the players in the lawsuit.
- She was suspended indefinitely by the university earlier in November. She said in a post on X that she was removed from the team for standing up for the players’ rights.
What they’re saying: “The Mountain West Conference prioritizes the best interests of our student-athletes and takes great care to adhere to NCAA and MW policies,” the Mountain West said in a statement. “While we are unable to comment on the pending litigation of this particular situation, we take seriously all concerns of student-athlete welfare and fairness.”
What we’re watching: Fresno State will head to Silicon Valley on Tuesday to play San Jose State at 7 p.m.
Flashback: The Bulldogs lost their previous matchup against the Spartans 3-1 in September and were not one of the teams in the Mountain West to forfeit.
