A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit filed by several current and former volleyball players for San José State and other players who tried to get an injunction against an athlete who identifies as transgender to play in the conference tournament.
The controversy has resulted in five opponents of San José State — four in the Mountain West Conference — forfeiting their game rather than playing against a transgender player. Several players on those five teams joined the lawsuit as well as an assistant coach who was let go because of the controversy.
Wyoming, Boise State, Nevada, Utah State, and Southern Utah forfeited seven matches against San José State. The Washington Post found that emails on the subject were overwhelmingly in favor of the school's actions.
"The defendants named in the lawsuit are the Mountain West Conference and its commissioner, two administrators at San José State, the school’s head volleyball coach, and the board of trustees of the California State University System," reports the New York Times.
The school says it followed all the guidelines put out by the NCAA for transgender players. The defendant's lawyers point to the 2020 Supreme Court decision preventing discrimination against students based on their gender identity.
Judge S. Kato Crews, a Biden appointee, wrote that Supreme Court and Title IX rulings established that protections extended to transgender people. Judge Crews also said that the plaintiffs weakened their case by filing it so late. He wrote that “the rush to litigate these complex issues now over a mandatory injunction” placed a burden on defendants “at the eleventh hour.”
SJSU was defiant.
“Our athletes all comply with NCAA and Mountain West Conference policies, and they are eligible to play under the rules of those organizations,” a San José State spokeswoman said in a statement. “We abhor that our students would be used for political purposes, and we continue to be concerned about the implications of doing so. We will continue to take measures to ensure the safety of our students while they pursue their earned opportunities to compete, and we remain committed to fostering an inclusive and caring environment for our student athletes.”
His ruling means that the transgender player remains eligible to compete in the tournament, which will feature the six teams in the conference with the best regular season records. They are competing for a spot in the N.C.A.A. Division I tournament in December. San Jose State will play either Boise State or Utah State; each of those teams forfeited earlier games against the Spartans.
San Jose State University wrote in a statement that it “will continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms.”
The plaintiffs have appealed the judge’s ruling.
"The N.C.A.A. also says that before transgender women can compete on women’s teams, they must complete one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment and not exceed certain levels of testosterone, a hormone linked to increased muscle growth and speed, among other physical attributes," reports the Times.
The testosterone "suppression" is only effective when administered before puberty. Otherwise, the muscle mass of a teenage boy remains no matter how much testosterone is in the body. The science on this subject is lacking because of resistance from the trans lobby but what some studies reveal is a clear advantage for trans females even after a year of hormone blockers.
If women are going to succeed in fighting the participation of trans females in high school and college athletics, Donald Trump is going to have to change Title IX language to reflect the majority opinion that trans female athletes should not compete against women and girls.
