The case comes amid an intense debate over transgender women’s participation in sport.
San Jose State University has not confirmed whether its women’s volleyball team includes a transgender player, citing privacy laws.
In his ruling, Judge Crews cited that decision, saying the equal protections afforded by Title IX apply to transgender athletes.
“All San Jose State University student-athletes are eligible to participate in their sports under NCAA [National Collegiate Athletics Association] and Mountain West Conference rules.”
USA Volleyball says transgender women must take “the necessary steps to transition to their adopted gender”, and submit testosterone levels before competing.
A US judge has decided that a transgender athlete on the women’s volleyball team at San Jose State University can stay on the court, rejecting other players’ request to ban her.
The athlete, who has competed all season, will be able to participate in the Mountain West Conference (MWC) women’s championship, which is set to begin in Las Vegas on Wednesday, thanks to a decision made by US District Judge S. Kato Crews on Monday.
To keep the athlete from competing, MWC players—including the current San Jose State co-captain—filed an urgent lawsuit against the league.
Transgender women’s participation in sports is a hotly debated topic at the moment of the case.
Because of privacy regulations, San Jose State University has not disclosed if any transgender players are on its women’s volleyball team. Judge Crews’ decision states that it has not, however, denied that it has a transgender member on its team.
Several former and current college volleyball players, as well as an associate head coach and a co-captain from San Jose, are among the dozen plaintiffs who sought a last-minute injunction to prevent the athlete from competing.
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In their 132-page complaint, the plaintiffs claimed that by depriving women of equal opportunities and endangering their safety, the league’s inclusion of a transgender athlete constitutes effective discrimination against women.
The lawsuit asserts that “Men competing on women’s teams is incompatible with equal opportunities for women,” referencing Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education. According to the plaintiffs, it forbids transgender women from playing women’s sports.
However, attorneys representing the defendants pointed to a 2020 Supreme Court decision that determined that sexual orientation and gender identity were covered by federal laws that prohibited sex discrimination in the workplace.
Judge Crews referenced that decision in his ruling, stating that transgender athletes are entitled to the same protections under Title IX.
Additionally, Joe Biden appointee Judge Crews stated that the plaintiffs had harmed their chances by filing their case just a few days prior to the competition. He stated that it “would risk confusion and upend months of planning” to ban the player from a tournament just days before it begins.
He stated that “the MWC’s interest in conducting and moving forward with the tournament as planned is favored by the equities on balance.”.
According to a statement issued on Monday, San Jose State will continue to “reject discrimination in all forms” and welcomed the decision.
“According to Mountain West Conference and NCAA [National Collegiate Athletics Association] regulations, all San Jose State University student-athletes are permitted to compete in their respective sports. “,”.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the judge’s decision.
Four teams reportedly boycotted their games against San Jose last month in protest of the transgender athlete. In a statement, athletes from the University of Nevada Reno, one of those teams, declared that they would not participate “in any match that advances injustice against female athletes.”.
The player has played collegiate volleyball for four seasons, including two for San Jose State, though her involvement in prior seasons did not garner much attention. A New York Times analysis of historical data indicates that all four of the teams that postponed games this season have faced the transgender player in the past.
The NCAA has different policies for transgender athletes depending on the sport’s governing body.
Before competing, transgender women must complete “the necessary steps to transition to their adopted gender” and provide their testosterone levels, according to USA Volleyball. The maximum amount of testosterone that trans women can have “must not exceed the upper limit of the normal female reference range for their age group.”.
