A federal appellate court confirmed on Tuesday a previous ruling that permits a member of the San Jose State women’s volleyball team to compete in the upcoming Mountain West Conference tournament. This decision follows a legal challenge questioning her eligibility on the basis of her transgender identity.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conclusion made by U.S. Magistrate S. Kato Crews in Denver, who had denied a request for an emergency injunction. In his assessment, he noted that the opponents of the league’s policy regarding the participation of transgender athletes should have filed their complaints sooner.
The challengers also requested that four teams, which incurred losses during the regular season while refusing to compete against San Jose State, have those losses expunged from their records and that the tournament’s seeding be adjusted accordingly.
The San Jose State athlete has been part of the team since 2022, but her eligibility only became contentious this season. The league’s existing policy regarding forfeit penalties for teams that opt not to play against a competitor with a transgender player has been in place since 2022, according to the conference.
According to Judge Crews, injunctions are intended to maintain the current state of affairs, and allowing the athlete to compete aligns with this principle.
Additionally, Crews indicated that injunctions are instituted to avert harm, but he reasoned that any potential harm in this situation had already taken place. The matches had already been forfeited, the tournament brackets finalized, teams arranged their travel, and participants confirmed their attendance.
This ruling by the appellate court followed an emergency appeal from the players regarding Crews’ determination.
The tournament is set to begin on Wednesday in Las Vegas. However, both top-seeded Colorado State and second-seeded San Jose State have earned byes into the semifinal rounds scheduled for Friday.
