Court Rejects Request to Sideline Transgender Player From Women’s Volleyball Team

A male athlete who identifies as a transgender woman can participate in a women’s volleyball tournament starting on Nov. 27, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
The athlete has been playing since 2022, undercutting an emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal, according to judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.
The player is on the San Jose State University women’s volleyball team, which is taking part in the Mountain West Conference tournament that starts on Wednesday.
“Plaintiffs acted appropriately by publicly protesting to bring attention to their concerns through a series of lawful boycotts. Only when the MWC ignored them did Plaintiffs bring a lawsuit, and they did so expeditiously with sufficient time for their claims to be considered in advance of the MWC tournament,” the lawyers said.
The rulings from Crews and the 10th Circuit judges only deal with the emergency motions. The case is still progressing and could lead to a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs.
“Plaintiffs’ claims appear to present a substantial question and may have merit. But plaintiffs have not established clear entitlement to relief, and however potentially meritorious, their showing does not rise to the level of clear entitlement under the appropriate standard,” Moritz and Lucero said.
William Bock, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told news outlets in a statement, “The Court of Appeal’s statement that the Plaintiffs appear to have presented a substantial and meritorious legal claim calls into question the legal reasoning of the district court and confirms Plaintiffs’ conviction that the harm caused to numerous women and women’s teams by a trans-identifying male competing in Mountain West Conference women’s college volleyball stems from illegal Conference and NCAA rules which are resulting in substantial and continuing violations of federal law.”
Brock added, “Plaintiffs look forward to ultimately receiving justice in this case when they prove these legal violations in court, and Plaintiffs look forward to the day when men are no longer allowed to wreak havoc in women’s sport.”
A scheduling conference in the case has been set for Jan. 13, 2025.
A spokesperson for San Jose State told news outlets in a statement, “San Jose State University will continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms.”
Conference officials said in a statement earlier in the week that they are “satisfied with the denial of the preliminary injunction and will continue to uphold the policies put in place by our Board of Directors which directly align with NCAA and USA Volleyball.”