San Jose State women’s volleyball team returns to court, wins a thriller

SAN JOSE — In its first volleyball match since a new lawsuit surfaced over transgender women competing in women’s college sports, San Jose State defeated Colorado State in a five-set thriller on Saturday.

The 27-25, 18-25, 25-17, 19-25, 15-10 victory on San Jose State’s home court came just days after Spartans co-captain Brooke Slusser and others filed a lawsuit seeking a court-ordered injunction banning San Jose State from allowing a player whom Slusser identified as transgender to compete in the Mountain West Conference championship Nov. 27-30 in Las Vegas. The lawsuit also seeks to ban the conference from allowing the player to compete in the championship.

Slusser had previously joined a class-action lawsuit filed in September against the National Collegiate Athletic Association accusing the organization of discriminating against women by allowing transgender women to compete. In the lawsuit, Slusser identified one of her teammates as being transgender.

Five teams have forfeited games against the Spartans amid the controversy, including Wyoming, Boise State, Nevada, Utah State and Southern Utah.

The team is also down an associate head coach after the suspension of Melissa Batie-Smoose, an outspoken opponent of rules allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports. Batie-Smoose filed a Title IX complaint after an Oct. 3 match between the Spartans and Colorado State alleging the student named by Slusser conspired with members of the other team to target Slusser with spikes, according to the conservative politics site Quillette with whom Batie-Smoose spoke.

The Mountain West Conference, with cooperation from both teams, investigated the Title IX complaints filed by Batie-Smoose and found insufficient evidence to support the her allegations, Deputy Commissioner Bret Gilliland said in a statement Friday. No disciplinary actions are warranted and the matter is closed, the statement said.

San Jose State officials and coach Todd Kress said in statements Saturday that the findings are “consistent with our own internal conclusions,” and a review of game film by both Kress and Colorado State’s coach Emily Kohan.

“As I’ve stated, there are numerous inaccuracies being portrayed in the media regarding this matter, and I believe that these findings highlight that,” Kress said in the statement. “From Day One, my top priority as the head coach of the San Jose State women’s volleyball team has been to field a team which conducts itself with integrity, and we are looking forward to continuing our season.”

This news organization is not naming the player who Slusser and others have identified as transgender, as the player has not confirmed this.

Despite tension off the court, little sign of conflict could be sensed during Saturday’s game. Slusser and the individual she identified in the lawsuits could also be seen regularly strategizing their next moves, and the crowd often broke into a roar regardless of who made a winning shot for the Spartans.

“We’re here to support out team, the whole team, the individual effected and the community at large,” said audience member Oli Harter.

Harter was among a group of students and community members associated with the university’s Pride Center and Students for a Democratic Society who were distributing shirts showing support for the student Slusser identified. About a dozen people could be seen wearing the shirts in the crowd.

While Saturday’s game may have seemed unifying, Harter, who used he and they pronouns, said regular attendees have become more siloed out of uncertainty of where others may stand on the current conflict.

But there’s also been more tension in the past, he said, noting he’s seen people with signs that read “keep men out of women’s sports” in the past. Signs were notably being checked for this game, Harter said.

“It’s probably really scary, especially for trans athletes who are playing and are out. It’s disheartening for sure,” Harter said. “It just really feels like this panic to distract folks and broader Americans from the conditions that do need to change.”

San Jose State’s next game will be at home against Fresno State on Tuesday. The team has also qualified to play in the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas from Nov. 27 to Nov. 30.

Bay Area News Group’s Ethan Baron contributed to this report.