A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday in Colorado against the Mountain West and its commissioner, Gloria Nevarez, seeks emergency injunctive relief that would declare a transgender San Jose State women’s volleyball player 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 free speech rights of those that spoke out in protest.
San Jose State University, its head volleyball coach Todd Kress, and two school administrators, as well as the trustees board for the California State University system, are also named as defendants.
The controversy flared in September when Slusser, who transferred to San Jose State prior to the 2023 season, joined a federal lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s transgender policy and went public with information 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…
