Debate over transgender athlete participation in sports hits San Jose State

SAN JOSE — San Jose State University has found itself at the center of a debate about whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete at the collegiate level.

Spartan senior Brooke Slusser, co-captain of the university’s women’s volleyball team, joined a lawsuit accusing the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for allegedly discriminating against women by allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.

Slusser says in the lawsuit that one of her teammates is transgender, arguing she has a physical advantage over teammates and opponents. Slusser also says she was not informed her teammate was transgender despite travel accommodations placing them together. This news organization is not naming the student.

NCAA’s Transgender Eligibility Policies, updated in 2022, align with a policy adopted by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and International Olympic Committee, which call for transgender participation in sports to be governed by the rules of each sport’s national governing body.

In addition to the lawsuit, two teams have forfeited games against the Spartans in the last few weeks – Southern Utah, which was scheduled to play San Jose State during a Sept. 14 tournament, and more recently, Boise State whose game was scheduled for Saturday.

Neither team specified a reason for forfeiting, but Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, lauded Boise State for, as Risch put it, “taking a stand for women in sports” in posts on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.

Boise State previously defeated San Jose State twice last season when both Slusser and the student she named as transgender were on the team, according to statistics published to the San Jose State women’s volleyball program website.

Michelle Smith McDonald, San Jose State’s senior director of media relations, confirmed in a statement Saturday that Boise State had forfeited, defended the university’s volleyball program and noted officials were not commenting on the gender of any students given federal privacy protections.

“We are operating our program under the regulations of both the NCAA and the Mountain West Conference. Our student athletes are in full compliance with NCAA rules and regulations,” read the statement.

LGBTQ advocates have decried what they say is a growing wave of anti-trans rhetoric.

“Attacks on transgender participation in sports have escalated in recent years, with evidence suggesting that these efforts are less about protecting women’s sports and more about facilitating the exclusion of transgender people from public life,” journalist and transgender rights activist Erin Reed wrote in response to the news that Boise State had forfeited its game against San Jose State.

The NCAA also stood by its programming and policies in a statement to sports publication OutKick on Friday.

“College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America and the NCAA members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition for all student-athletes in all NCAA championships,” the statement read.

Slusser did not immediately respond to a request for comment made through the attorneys representing plaintiffs in the lawsuit.