SJSU volleyball player, assistant coach suing over transgender athlete claims amid 6th forfeiture
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Claims from a San Jose State women's volleyball player that her teammate is transgender have made this a controversial season for the Spartans.
Now, the university and Mountain West Conference are part of a lawsuit alleging violations of protected rights.
The San Jose State women's volleyball court sat empty and it remained that way Thursday because the University of Wyoming forfeited its second match against the Spartans this season.
It's the sixth match this season that opponents have forfeited, contributing to 11 total conference wins for SJSU so far.
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The forfeitures stem from unconfirmed claims by a Spartans' volleyball player that one of her own teammates is transgender.
And now that player, Co-Captain Brooke Slusser, along with suspended Associate Head Coach Melissa Batie-Smoose and 10 other college volleyball players are suing over Title IX and First Amendment violations.
Slusser spoke about the controversy exclusively on Fox News, saying the university is allowing one player to cause issues.
"I mean, it's sad that the school still chooses to prioritize one man's needs over an entire team and be willing to get rid of half our team because of it," Slusser said. "So, it's amazing that other teams in the conference can stand up and say, 'No, we're not doing this.'"
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The Mountain West Conference, Commissioner Gloria Nevarez, the CSU Board of Trustees, SJSU Head Volleyball Coach Todd Kress and other SJSU officials are the defendants in the case.
Court documents allege that the SJSU athlete is getting preferential treatment and that the concerns and feelings of others on the team are not being heard.
The lawsuit claims that during an April meeting, SJSU officials told team members to not speak about the situation or "it would go badly for team members."
The suit contends that the volleyball player plaintiffs claim is that transgender people should not be eligible for the team, and they are calling on the conference to ban that athlete from the upcoming Mountain West Conference Tournament, to reverse the losses for the teams that forfeited and to strip wins from SJSU's record.
RELATED: 2 schools forfeit games against SJSU volleyball amid lawsuit over player's gender
Slusser is also part of another lawsuit against the NCAA related to this issue.
Menlo College Political Scientist Melissa Michelson expects the results of the presidential election will only embolden more action of this kind.
"Because it was such a big issue in the campaign and because Trump and his allies have been so vocal about their opposition to transgender people being able to live their lives openly, I think we're going to see more and more of this activity," Michelson said.
SJSU told us they have not been served with the lawsuit and have no comment at this time.
The Mountain West sent ABC7 News a statement saying: "The Mountain West Conference prioritizes the best interests of our student-athletes and takes great care to adhere to NCAA and MW policies. While we are unable to comment on the pending litigation of this particular situation, we take seriously all concerns of student-athlete welfare and fairness."
