San Jose State University and the California State University system filed the lawsuit on Friday, according to major media reports. SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson broke news of the lawsuit. The lawsuit responds to a federal government ruling that the schools had violated Title IX during the 2022-2024 season.
The federal government ruled that by allowing transgender athlete Blaire Fleming to play on their volleyball team, SJSU had deprived biologically female athletes of a position, multiple reports indicate. The Office for Civil Rights gave the school an ultimatum and threatened to cut funding if it did not comply with the stipulations of their resolution. Those terms included stating that the school would adopt biology-based definitions of gender, separate sports facilities by biological sex, and apologize to the women's volleyball teams, according to major media accounts.
This is not a step we take lightly. However, we have a responsibility to defend the integrity of our institution and the rule of law, while ensuring that every member of our community is treated fairly and in accordance with the law.
SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson disputed the government's claims that any laws had been violated and refused to comply with the government's stipulations, major media reports confirm. She reiterated the school's decision to stand by LGBTQ students and athletes, including Fleming.
The crux of the controversy began in 2024 when SJSU revealed a transgender athlete had joined the volleyball team two years prior, major media reports state. Former co-captain Brooke Slusser filed a lawsuit alleging that Fleming's biological sex had never been disclosed before the team was forced into shared hotel rooms and locker rooms with her, according to Slusser's account in major media. Slusser waged multiple lawsuits after discovering Fleming was transgender and that they had shared changing spaces and bedrooms during their first season together in 2023.
Our position is simple: We have followed the law and cannot be punished for doing so.
In their findings, the US Department of Education claimed that Fleming conspired with a member of an opposing team to have a female athlete spiked in the face, according to the department. The department further stated that SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected the female athlete to a Title IX complaint for 'misgendering' the male athlete.
Blaire Fleming has made allegations about former teammate Brooke Slusser's lifestyle and academics, according to Fleming. Fleming claimed to be 'suicidal' during the 2024 season, as detailed in a New York Times Magazine profile in April, and cried 'almost every night' during the scandal, according to the same profile.
Our support for the LGBTQ members of our community, who have experienced threats and harms over the last several years, remains unwavering.
The controversy erupted in 2024 as University of Wyoming and four other women’s volleyball teams boycotted games against San Jose State University after reports surfaced that a top SJSU player, Blaire Fleming, was transgender, research from two sources indicates. Due to the Mountain West Conference’s transgender participation policy, protest forfeits counted as losses. The Mountain West Conference's policy allowed transgender players to participate in women’s sports after one full year of testosterone suppression and demonstration of testosterone levels below a specific threshold, according to research from two sources.
UW players Macey Boggs, Sierra Grizzle, and Jordan Sandy joined Brooke Slusser and others in suing the California State University board and other individuals, including SJSU’s head coach, and the Mountain West Conference, research from two sources shows. A Colorado-based federal judge has dismissed all but one claim in the case of 11 collegiate women’s volleyball athletes against the board that manages San Jose State University, according to research from two sources. The women had also sued the Mountain West Conference, but U.S. District Judge S. Kato Crews dismissed all claims against the Mountain West Conference in his March 3 order, research from two sources confirms. San Jose State University’s governing entity, the California State University Board, remains under legal challenge, research from two sources indicates.
We know the attention the university has received around this issue and the investigative process that followed have been unsettling for many in our community.
The plaintiffs asked the judge to overturn their losses in time for the championship tournament on Nov. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas, according to research from two sources. The judge declined to tweak their record, citing in part the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, research from two sources states. The Supreme Court is weighing whether Bostock’s definition of sex discrimination applies to Title IX in a case involving a transgender student athlete, research from two sources indicates. Judge Crews deferred ruling on the Title IX damage claims until after the Supreme Court issues its ruling, according to research from two sources.
Judge Crews is keeping alive the women’s claim that they can sue as two distinct 'classes' of people wronged, research from two sources reports.
It makes me so mad that SJSU still refuses to see that everything they did is wrong. I think they're just too scared to admit it and face the repercussions of their actions!
Brooke Slusser ridiculed SJSU's decision to file a suit in a statement obtained by Fox Digital, according to major media.
Brooke Slusser developed an eating disorder, which led to anorexia and the loss of her menstrual cycle.
Slusser's ailments stemmed from emotional distress during her final season with Fleming in 2024.
Slusser fled the San Jose State campus and later dropped her classes in her final semester this past spring.
Constant in-person harassment by students who opposed her stance made her feel 'unsafe' at San Jose State.
Slusser has been anorexic and struggled with food since 2023, and would weigh herself 2-3 times a day and track it on a whiteboard.
Slusser did not drop her classes but failed out.
Slusser disputed Fleming's allegations, stating she always lived a healthy lifestyle until events made it unhealthy, and she decided to stay home after fall 2024 to heal, not returning to San Jose State.
If that's what [Fleming] was going through, that's terrible.
Slusser 'needs to get a life.'
I have a great life.