The San Jose State women’s volleyball team continues to face nationwide criticism from people who are claim that the club has a transgender player on the roster. Amid the controversy, several teams have already boycotted their games against San Jose State in recent months. Several athletes from various schools have also filed a federal lawsuit to stop the San Jose State player from taking part in championship games, CNN reported.
The San Jose State player who is at the center of the controversy has not made any public comments on the situation. Although the player has been on the team since 2022, the controversy started in April after a news report on the athlete’s gender. After the news report was published, it became clear that the San Jose State player is facing a lawsuit from teammate Brooke Slusser and several athletes from other teams. Slusser, who filed a complaint against San Jose State staffers, said the player had confessed to her that she identifies as a transgender woman. According to the lawsuit, Slusser told team staffers that her teammate’s participation “was not fair to the girls and put them at physical risk.”
While several teams chose to forfeit their match against San Jose State, the Spartans climbed to the No. 2 seed in the Mountain West Conference. Boise State became the latest team to boycott its game against San Jose State on Wednesday, allowing the Spartans to advance to the championship game against Colorado State on Saturday. Colorado State then defeated the Spartans and ended their season, KSBW reported.
While the Spartans were criticized for advancing to the final due to the forfeited matches, coach Todd Kress said the team “was ready to play each match according to established Mountain West and NCAA rules of play and they “did not take away anyone’s participation opportunities.”
“Sadly, others who for years have played this same team without incident chose not to play us this season,” Kress said in a statement, per KSBW. “To be clear, we did not celebrate a single win by forfeiture. Instead, we braced for the fallout. Each forfeiture announcement unleashed appalling, hateful messages individuals chose to send directly to our student-athletes, our coaching staff, and many associated with our program.”
The post San Jose State Women’s Volleyball Team Faced Hatred And Bigotry As Season Took Center Stage In Transgender Athlete Debate appeared first on Blavity.
