Federal judge rules in favor of Mountain West in lawsuit over transgender volleyball player

A federal judge ruled Monday that the Mountain West’s conference volleyball championship can proceed as planned this week, denying a motion to ban San Jose State’s transgender player.
Judge Kato Crews also denied a motion that would have forced the Mountain West to adjust its current team standings by removing losses assigned to the teams that forfeited against SJSU, like Utah State, according to Front Office Sports.
Monday’s ruling came in response to a request for emergency relief from a group of current and former volleyball players, as well as a coach.
The women, including one of the transgender player’s teammates, argued that the Mountain West’s policy on transgender athletes violates Title IX, as the Deseret News previously reported.
In his ruling, the judge wrote that the players and coaches that brought the lawsuit had not made an effective case for emergency relief, since the player in question has played for San Jose State since 2022.
“There is no evidence to suggest they were precluded from seeking emergency relief earlier, and the rush to litigate these complex issues now over a mandatory injunction places a heavy lift on the MWC at the eleventh hour,” he wrote, per Front Office Sports.
Judge Crews also noted that Title IX protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The players and coach fighting the Mountain West’s policy on transgender athletes have said they were unaware that one of San Jose State’s players is transgender until this spring. The school has not confirmed the identity of the player and has, instead, responded to pushback by saying that all of its women’s volleyball players are eligible to compete under NCAA and Mountain West rules.
The NCAA’s eligibility rules for women’s volleyball, which are drawn from USA Volleyball, say that “transgender women are deemed eligible if they suppress their testosterone under 10 nmol/L,” per ESPN.
The Mountain West conference volleyball tournament is set to begin Wednesday.
In part because of forfeits, San Jose State has a bye and won’t play until Friday’s semifinal round.
On Friday, San Jose State is scheduled to face the winner of a Wednesday match between Utah State and Boise State, but both schools forfeited to the school in the regular season and may forfeit again.
“Should either team sit out, San Jose State would face top-seeded Colorado State, No. 4 Fresno State or No. 5 San Diego State in Saturday’s championship. All three teams played the Spartans this season,” The Associated Press reported.