Judge: Transgender volleyball athlete may compete. Boise State mum on potential matchup
A federal judge in Colorado ruled that a transgender volleyball player for San Jose State University is allowed to compete in the Mountain West volleyball tournament this week.
That will put another major spotlight on the winner of the Boise State-Utah State quarterfinal match Wednesday, because the Spartans await in the semifinals.
The decision came after 12 plaintiffs — including two Boise State volleyball players — filed a lawsuit against the Mountain West, Commissioner Gloria Nevarez and four San Jose State officials. The lawsuit alleged violations of Title IX and the players’ First and 14th Amendment rights because a transgender student-athlete has competed for San Jose State throughout the season.
Boise State forfeited both of its regular season matches against the Spartans. Utah State, Wyoming and Nevada also forfeited, resulting in six total matches recorded as losses for those teams and wins for San Jose State.
The judge rejected numerous demands in the lawsuit, including rescinding the wins granted to San Jose State and not allowing the student-athlete, who was outed in a federal lawsuit by a teammate as transgender, to compete in the Mountain West Tournament.
The judge also rejected a demand that the Mountain West rescind a portion of the conference’s transgender participation policy that results in wins and losses following a forfeiture. The lawsuit claimed the conference’s policy was instituted on the same day that Boise State became the first Mountain West team to forfeit, and that it was done to quell future forfeitures.
However, Mountain West Deputy Commissioner Bret Gilliland confirmed to the Idaho Statesman that the conference’s transgender policy has been in place since August 2022 and has not been edited.
Boise State remains mute on potential matchup
The decision has put Boise State on a potential collision course with San Jose State.
The Broncos enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed and face No. 3 Utah State on Wednesday afternoon. The Aggies have defeated Boise State both times they’ve squared off this season, 3-2 and 3-1.
For the winner of that match, No. 2 San Jose State awaits in the semifinals on Friday afternoon. But that’s a match that will result in a forfeit if the schools stick to their regular season stances.
When asked whether Boise State would play the match, athletics spokesperson Chris Kutz said the school did not have a comment “on potential matchups at this time.”
A forfeit likely would end the volleyball team’s season. The NCAA women’s tournament kicks off in early December, but Boise State has a record of 18-10 overall and 10-8 in conference play, meaning the Broncos probably have to win the conference tourney to make it.
Idaho politicians continue to weigh in
Idaho U.S. Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo have made themselves prominent in recent months surrounding the issue of transgender athletes in sports.
The pair of Republicans announced on Tuesday they were throwing their weight behind an effort in Congress that aims to codify the legal definitions of male, female, and sex. Risch and Crapo are co-sponsoring a bill called the Defining Male and Female Act of 2024, carried by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, who is a medical doctor. A similar push of the same name earlier this year in the Republican-controlled U.S. House has sputtered.
“Men and women have biological differences that must be recognized. Women and girls deserve to feel safe and respected in all spaces, public and private,” Crapo said in a news release.
“Women in Idaho and across the country have stood up for fairness, scholarship access, and safe athletics. It’s time Congress does the same,” Risch added.
The introduction of the Senate bill came a week after Risch and Crapo, along with the rest of Idaho’s congressional delegates, sent a letter to the Mountain West urging the conference to ban transgender women from competing in female sports.
The letter cited Title IX, a federal law that protects students from discrimination based on sex in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding. The letter claimed that the Mountain West’s failure to “recognize these biological differences between males and females puts our daughters and granddaughters in harm’s way.”
This story was originally published November 26, 2024 at 2:28 PM.
