SJSU volleyball team with trans player clinches playoff meeting vs. team that forfeited amid controversy
San Jose State's volleyball team is currently guaranteed to face a team in the upcoming Mountain West Tournament that has already forfeited to it during the regular season.
San Jose State has had six of its conference wins this season awarded via forfeit amid a national controversy over a trans athlete on the team. With those wins, the team finished with a 12-6 conference record and has earned a first-round bye in the upcoming tournament.
Now, they are guaranteed to play the semifinal. And the opponent they are set to face in that match is guaranteed to be one of the four teams that refused to play them in the regular season. Utah State and Boise State are set to play in the quarterfinal match that will determine who faces the Spartans in the next round.
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Boise State was so unwilling to play San Jose State during the regular season that it forfeited two scheduled matches against the Spartans, taking a pair of conference losses on its record. Meanwhile, Utah State, which only forfeited one game, has joined a lawsuit against The Mountain West over the presence of Fleming as it seeks to have that loss restored.
On the other side of the bracket, Colorado State holds the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Colorado State played both games against San Jose State this year, as the teams split the series. Fresno State and San Diego States, two other teams that played the Spartans amid the controversy this year, will face off in the quarterfinal for the right to face Colorado State.
But there is bound to be uncertainty in San Jose State's semifinal, regardless of what team advances to that round, under the current setup.
Spartans co-captain Brooke Slusser, who is engaged in two lawsuits over the presence of her trans teammate Blaire Fleming, previously told Fox News Digital that her team doesn't even know if their upcoming tournament opponents will face them.
"We're just mostly wondering, are teams even gonna play us, period, if we go there? Because of just everything that's happened this season," Slusser said. "It seems like every few days it looks like it'll be a fine day and everything's normal and then something else happens. So, I truly do think everyone's just kind of taking things day by day and taking the punches as they come."
A Mountain West spokesperson previously told Fox News digital that the conference is preparing for San Jose State, and all of its opponents to compete, but also has a plan in place in the event of forfeits. That plan includes a willingness to recognize the winner of the conference final if their theoretical opponent in that game were to forfeit, the spokesperson said.
"If we get to a championship game, and it's San Jose State vs. whoever, if that institution forfeits the game, then San Jose State wins that match, and then they are tournament champions. And they would be the automatic qualifier out of the Mountain West," the spokesperson said.
However, that plan could change pending a ruling by a federal judge in Colorado after an emergency hearing on Thursday. Judge Kato Crews presided over a hearing after plaintiffs, including Utah State, contested that Fleming shouldn't be allowed to compete in the tournament.
Crews, who was appointed by President Biden in January, dedicated the first 45 minutes of the hearing to a debate between the plaintiffs and defendants over what pronouns to use when describing Fleming and whether Fleming's name should be used during the hearing for the sake of privacy. The judge eventually decided to use she/her pronouns when referring to Fleming but told everyone else they could use whatever pronouns they wished.
Crews concluded the hearing by saying he will deliver a ruling on the case in a "timely fashion." The tournament is set to begin next Wednesday.
San Jose State has repeatedly defended the presence of Fleming on the team.
"Our athletes all comply with NCAA and Mountain West Conference policies and are eligible to play under the rules of those organizations. Our volleyball team members have earned the right to compete, and we are deeply disappointed for them and with them that they are being denied those opportunities through cancellations and forfeits. We are also proud of how they have persevered through these challenges on the court," a statement provided to Fox News Digital by a university spokesperson said.
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