SAN JOSE — San Jose State University is at the middle of a debate over whether transgender athletes needs to be allowed to compete on 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) of discriminating against women by allowing transgender women to take part in women's sports .
Slusser says within the lawsuit that considered one of her teammates is transgender and argues she has a physical advantage over teammates and opponents. Slusser also says she was not informed that her teammate was transgender, though the travel accommodations brought them together. This news organization is just not naming the coed.
The NCAA's transgender eligibility guidelines, updated in 2022, are consistent with a directive from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee that requires transgender participation in sports to be governed by the foundations of the respective sport's national governing body becomes.
In addition to the lawsuit, two teams have lost games to the Spartans in recent weeks — Southern Utah, which was scheduled to play San Jose State during a Sept. 14 tournament, and most recently Boise State, whose game was scheduled for Saturday.
Neither team gave a reason for the waiver, but Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, praised Boise State for, as Risch put it, in posts on X, formerly Twitter, “stands up for women in sport”. , on Friday.
Boise State beat San Jose State twice last season when each Slusser and the coed who identified her as transgender were on the team, in keeping with statistics posted on the San Jose State women's volleyball program website .
San Jose State senior director of media relations Michelle Smith McDonald confirmed in an announcement Saturday that Boise State had waived and defended the university's volleyball program, noting that officials didn’t comment on students' gender who’ve been granted federal data protection.
“We operate our program under NCAA and Mountain West Conference regulations. “Our student-athletes are in full compliance with NCAA rules and regulations,” the statement said.
LGBTQ advocates have decried what they are saying is a growing wave of anti-trans rhetoric.
“Attacks on transgender participation in sports have increased in recent years, and there is evidence that these efforts are less about protecting women's sports and more about excluding transgender people from public life to make it easier,” said journalist and transgender rights activist Erin Reed wrote in response to the news that Boise State had forfeited his game against San Jose State.
The NCAA also stood by its program and policies in an announcement to sports publication OutKick on Friday.
“College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America and NCAA members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition for all student-athletes at all NCAA championships,” the statement said .
Slusser didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from attorneys representing the plaintiffs within the lawsuit.
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