A Denver U.S. District Court judge has ruled that the San Jose State women’s volleyball team is eligible to play in the Mountain West Conference tournament, including the one man who plays on the team, identifying as a woman but physically dominating all others.
Judge S. Kato Crews denied a motion filed by 12 athletes against the conference, a motion that requested the benching of the man from the San Jose competitive volleyball team. The motion requested all of the season’s 12 wins be removed from the team. Six of the teams wins came due to other teams forfeiting.
That judge making the decision was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in January, with 51 votes — including Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, both who continue to serve because of their states’ unusual ranked-choice voting schemes, were the only Republicans to vote for the judge in his confirmation. Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska voted no.
The lawsuit against San Jose State University was filed Nov. 13 by SJSU volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser and associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose, with 10 current and former Mountain West women volleyball players. The group had asked for an emergency injunction against the male player; the Mountain West tournament started this week in Las Vegas.
“The Court finds the movants’ delay was not reasonable, there is no evidence to suggest they were precluded from seeking emergency relief earlier, and the rush to litigate these complex issues now over a mandatory injunction places a heavy lift on the MWC at the eleventh hour,” Crews wrote.
