FILE - The San Jose State University Spartans line up for the playing of the national anthem and player introductions for their NCAA Mountain West women's volleyball game against the Colorado State University Rams in Fort Collins, Colo., on Oct. 3, 2024. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, file)

A judge on Monday rejected a request to block a San Jose State women’s volleyball team member from playing in a conference tournament on grounds that she is transgender.

The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews in Denver will allow the player, who has played all season, to compete in the Mountain West Conference women’s championship this week in Las Vegas.

The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by nine current players against the conference challenging league policies for allowing transgender players to participate. The players argued that letting her compete poses a safety risk and is unfair.

While some media have reported those and other details, neither San Jose State nor the forfeiting teams have confirmed the school has a trans woman volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the player’s name because she has not commented publicly on her gender identity. School officials also have declined an interview request with the player.

Crews' ruling referred to the athlete as an “alleged transgender” player and noted that no defendant disputed that the San Jose State roster includes a transgender woman player.

San Jose State will "continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms," the university said in a statement, confirming all its student-athletes are eligible to participate under NCAA and conference rules. “We are gratified that the Court rejected an eleventh-hour attempt to change those rules. Our team looks forward to competing in the Mountain West volleyball tournament this week."

The conference said it was “satisfied” with the judge's decision and would continue upholding policies established by its board of directors, which “directly align with NCAA and USA Volleyball.”

“We are excited to proceed with the Mountain West Conference Women's Volleyball Championship,” its statement added.

The players filed a notice for emergency appeal with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Crews said the players could have sought relief much earlier, noting the individual universities had acknowledged that not playing their games against San Jose State this season would result in a loss in league standings. He refused a request to re-seed the tournament without the forfeited losses.

The judge said injunctions are meant to preserve the status quo. The conference policy regarding forfeiting for refusing to play against a team with a transgender player had been in effect since 2022 and the San Jose State player has been on the roster since 2022 -– making that the status quo.

The player competed at the college level three previous seasons, including two for San Jose State, drawing little attention. This season’s awareness of her reported identity led to an uproar among some players, parents and also politicians in a major election year.

Crews' ruling also said injunctions are meant to prevent harm, but in this case, he argued, the harm has already occurred. The games have been forfeited, the tournament has been seeded and the participants have confirmed they're playing.

The tournament starts Wednesday and continues Friday and Saturday. Colorado State is seeded first and San Jose State, second. The teams split their regular-season matches and both get byes into Friday's semifinals.

San Jose State will play the winner of Wednesday's match between Utah State and Boise State — teams that forfeited matches to SJSU during the regular season. Boise State associate athletic director Chris Kutz declined to comment on whether the Broncos would play SJSU if they won their first-round tournament game. Utah State associate athletic director Doug Hoffman said the university is reviewing the order and the team is preparing for Wednesday's match.

The tournament winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. San Jose State coach Todd Kress, whose team hasn't competed in the national tournament since 2001, has said they've been getting “messages of hate” that have taken a toll on the players.

Several teams refused to play against San Jose State this season, earning losses in the official conference standings. Boise State and Wyoming each had two forfeits while Utah State and Nevada both had one. Southern Utah, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, was the first to cancel against San Jose State this year.

Nevada’s players stated they “refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes,” without elaborating. Nevada didn't qualify for the conference tournament.

The nine current players and others now suing the Mountain West Conference, the California State University Board of Trustees and others include San Jose State senior setter and co-captain Brooke Slusser. Slusser says the player is transgender and hits the volleyball with more force than other teammates, raising fear during practices of suffering concussions from a head hit, according to the complaint.

The Independent Council on Women’s Sports is funding a separate lawsuit against the NCAA for allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports. Both lawsuits claim the landmark 1972 federal antidiscrimination law known as Title IX prohibits transgender women in women’s sports. Title IX prohibits sexual discrimination in federally funded education; Slusser is a plaintiff in both lawsuits.

Several circuit courts have used a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to conclude that discriminating against someone based on their transgender status or sexual orientation is sex-based discrimination, Crews wrote. That means case law does not prove the “likelihood of success” needed to grant an injunction.

An NCAA policy that subjects transgender participation to the rules of sports governing bodies took effect this academic year. USA Volleyball says a trans woman must suppress testosterone for 12 months before competing. The NCAA has not flagged any issues with San Jose State.

The Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the team cancellations, citing fairness in women’s sports. President-elect Donald Trump likewise has spoken out against allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.

Crews was a magistrate judge in Colorado’s U.S. District Court for several years before President Joe Biden appointed him as a federal judge in January.

___

Gruver reported from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Hanson from Helena, Montana.

News from © The Associated Press, 2024