Four opponents forfeit volleyball matches for San Jose State in protest over transgender player

The San Jose State women’s volleyball team earned its fourth victory by forfeit Wednesday, three weeks before the match was scheduled and a day before losing on the court for the first time this season.

The reason for this unusual sequence of events is simple: San Jose State has a transgender athlete on its roster, and four Mountain West Conference opponents chose to take losses rather than take the field against the Spartans.

Utah State joined Boise State, Southern Utah and Wyoming in canceling games on Wednesday, although the Aggies are not expected to travel to San Jose State until on October 23. Wyoming was scheduled to host the Spartans on Saturday, but that game was canceled. already been described as a forfeit.

Colorado State hosted San Jose State on Thursday and won in straight sets, handing the Spartans their first loss of the season. Nevada said it will play San Jose State as scheduled on Oct. 26.

San Jose State has said that addressing the gender identity of its athletes would violate school policy, and the schools that withdrew have not publicly stated that the presence of a transgender player was the reason for these cancellations. Still, statements from other officials leave no doubt that the transgender player is the problem.

Although San Jose State officials declined interview requests, the school released a statement to Bay Area television station KTVU: “It is disappointing that our SJSU student-athletes…are denied the possibility of competing. We are committed to supporting our student-athletes through these challenges. »

Meanwhile, the schools that dropped out appear to have support from their state politicians. Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little signed an executive order last week banning sports teams at Boise State and other public schools in the state from playing against teams made up of trans athletes.

“Biological males, men and boys, have physical differences that give them an unfair advantage when competing against women and girls,” he said.

A federal judge blocked Idaho from becoming the first U.S. state to ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports in public schools in 2020, granting a challenge from a transgender Boise State student. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling, saying Idaho is one of 25 states that have passed laws banning transgender athletes from competing in teams corresponding to their gender identity.

Idaho Rep. Barbara Ehardt, a Republican from Idaho Falls, sponsored the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” making the state the first to require student-athletes to compete on teams corresponding to their biological sex.

Wyoming lost its Oct. 5 game against San Jose State on Tuesday after “a long discussion,” according to Wyoming assistant athletic director Nick Seeman. The decision was a reversal from the team’s previous stance, when a Wyoming spokesperson told the Cowboy State Daily in an email that the game would be played and “no student-athletes expressed concern about his safety.

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon supported the decision to forfeit in a social media post: “I fully support @wyoathletics’ decision to forfeit their volleyball match against San Jose State. He “It’s important that we uphold integrity and fairness in women’s athletics.”

The issue became public last week when San Jose State co-captain Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA filed by former All-American swimmer and anti-trans-athlete activist Riley Gaines . The suit alleges that the NCAA’s transgender eligibility policies violate Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Slusser alleges in the lawsuit that her San Jose State teammate is a man and that their inclusion on the women’s team presents an unfair advantage and safety risks. Slusser also alleges that she was asked to share a room with her teammate without being informed that they were transgender.

When it became public through an online news article in April that her teammate was transgender, Slusser claims, San Jose State officials made it clear that if she “should protest (their) participation in the team or speak publicly about the harm caused by (their) participation on the team that she would be disciplined by SJSU and could be suspended or removed from the team and/or have her athletic scholarship revoked.

Slusser alleges that the team was told that their transgender teammate’s participation “was required by NCAA rules and that NCAA rules prevented SJSU from treating them differently in any way from other members of the team.” the women’s team.

Slusser and the transgender player remain teammates.