SAN JOSE – The San Jose State women’s volleyball team received a first-round bye in the Mountain West Conference tournament, setting up a potential semifinal matchup against one of the conference rivals that refused to play the Spartans during the regular season.
SJSU has been at the epicenter of a debate involving transgender athletes in women’s sports. Five opponents, including four Mountain West teams, forfeit rather than play SJSU. Two of the teams, Utah State and Boise State,made the MW Tournament and meet in the first round on Wednesday. The winner would be scheduled to face the Spartans on Nov. 29 for a spot in the final and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament..
San Jose State is still waiting to see if its alleged transgender player will be allowed to participate in the tournament.
The Independent Council on Women’s Sports organization – founded by former Stanford swimmer Kim Jones – has asked a Colorado judge to remove the transgender player from the Spartans before the tournament starts. Arguments in the suit, which SJSU team captain Brooke Slusser is a part of, were made Thursday in an emergency season in Colorado. The judge did not issue a ruling but told reporters he’d have a decision in a “timely fashion.”
The NCAA allows transgender women to compete on women’s teams after a year of testosterone-suppression drugs if their levels of the hormone stay below certain thresholds.
This news organization is not naming the player who Slusser and others have identified as transgender, as the player has not confirmed this.
Since Slusser joined the lawsuit in September, five teams have forfeited games against the Spartans, including Wyoming, Nevada, Southern Utah, Utah State and Boise State, the latter two being placed on SJSU’s side of the bracket.
Should San Jose State advance to the finals, the Spartans will play either Fresno State, San Diego State or top seed Colorado State, three teams that did not forfeit regular season matches to SJSU.
