Two weeks ago, the co-captain of the San Jose State women’s volleyball team joined a federal lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s policy regarding the participation of transgender athletes.

Brooke Slusser advocated for the disqualification of a volleyball teammate who was allegedly born male but currently identifies as a transgender woman. Slusser argued in the legal filing that the player hits the ball with such force that it gives San Jose State an “unfair advantage” and poses a safety risk to other players during practices and games.

These comments by Slusser threw gasoline on an already simmering controversy. Activists attacked San Jose State, conservative politicians intervened, and now three other Mountain West schools have opted out of games against the Spartans rather than pursue legal action against a player they believe is transgender.

On the eve of the September 28 game at San Jose State, Boise State released a 48-word statement revealing that it would not play and accepted the defeat. Wyoming and Utah State both forfeited games this week against the Spartans later this month. In each case, the schools chose not to explain why they were not playing. In each case, the announcements were followed on social media by a post from the state’s governor praising the decision.

“It is essential to maintain a space where women can compete fairly and safely,” Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox wrote on X on Wednesday evening after Utah announced the results. “Our female athletes are struggling with this difficult issue because the NCAA has failed in its responsibility to protect female athletes and women’s sports. It is time for the NCAA to take this matter seriously.”

In response to the forfeitures, San Jose State released a statement saying, “It is disappointing that our SJSU student-athletes, who fully comply with NCAA and Mountain West rules and regulations, are denied the opportunity to compete.” The Spartans started the week with a perfect 9-0 record before suffering their first loss of the season at Colorado State Stadium on Thursday night in front of reporters from six local and national media outlets.

Before the game, San Jose State coach Todd Kress approached Colorado State coach Emily Kohan and asked, “Should I thank you for playing with us?” Kress told reporters in Colorado Springs later that evening that he “meant it” because the forfeits hurt not only San Jose State players but also opposing players “who have earned the right to get on the field and play.”

“We’re in a situation where government and politics seem to be kind of intertwined with college sports,” Kress said, adding that he prefers college sports to be a “safe haven” from government intervention.

Yahoo Sports has chosen not to name the allegedly transgender San Jose State athlete because she has not spoken publicly about her gender identity. San Jose State does not address any student’s gender identity, citing federal privacy laws.

Before the first reports that a transgender player was allegedly playing on the San Jose State women’s volleyball team, her presence had never been an issue for opposing teams. The 6-foot-1 former Coastal Carolina transfer appeared in 27 games for the Spartans in the 2022 season and 17 while battling injuries last season. She had never made an all-conference team or been among the Mountain West leaders in kills or kill percentage before this season.

San Jose State finished last season with a 13-18 record and won only four games in the Mountain West. On November 9, 2023, Utah State swept San Jose State with the player in question in the Spartans’ starting lineup. Two days later, Boise State did the same.

Opponents weren’t the only ones who didn’t suspect San Jose State had a transgender player last year. Neither did some of her teammates.

Slusser transferred from Alabama to San Jose State in the fall of 2023 and was assigned a dorm suite with an allegedly transgender player and other teammates. The legal complaint states that during the 2023–2024 season, the two were often roommates on road trips.

Last April, reduxx published an article alleging that the San Jose State women’s volleyball player was transgender and hid her biological sex from teammates and opponents. The conservative news site said it began reporting the story after receiving a tip from its opponent’s mother.

According to the lawsuit, on the day the case came to light, the San Jose State player revealed to Slusser during lunch that she was transgender. San Jose State officials also held a meeting with the women’s volleyball team, urging players not to speak publicly about a teammate’s gender identity and to let the player tell her own story.

The lawsuit alleges that San Jose State failed to inform any incoming women’s volleyball recruit that it allegedly had a transgender athlete on the team, even though “it was now a well-known fact to the athletics department and virtually everyone else at SJSU.” Slusser also claimed that the allegedly transgender player’s spikes in practice moved “faster than she had ever seen a woman hit a volleyball.”

“Multiple girls on the team talked to Brooke about their fears of being hit by the ball that (the player) put in,” the lawsuit says.

Under pressure to satisfy activists on both sides of the issue, the NCAA has over the past three years updated its policy on transgender athlete participation to align with the Olympic movement. Transgender athletes must pass testosterone testing and meet sport-specific requirements to compete in NCAA women’s sports.

These changes were made at a time when rhetoric regarding transgender people has increased. In July, Elon Musk raged against the “woke mind virus” that “killed” his transgender daughter, who he believed transitioned during the pandemic. Former President Donald Trump spoke of “transgender madness” and raised concerns that teachers were “raising” or “indoctrinating” children to become gay or transgender during the school day.

San Jose State women’s volleyball faced criticism back in mid-September when Southern Utah withdrew from a match against the Spartans in the Santa Clara tournament. The controversy has escalated since Slusser joined the lawsuit against the NCAA, with local and national media coverage declining.

So far, no other Mountain West opponent has conceded. San Diego State’s upcoming opponent says it plans to face the Spartans next Thursday in San Jose.

“We are ready to play and committed to supporting our student-athletes,” San Diego State said in a statement.

Asked whether he expected more cancellations, Kress said he would not speculate. He described this San Jose State team as one of his favorites he has ever coached.

– We are different, aren’t we? he said. “I mean, we have differences in the locker room and in team meetings and things like that, but still, when we go out on the field, we love each other and we respect each other, we respect our differences. I’m not sure any team I’ve coached in the past could have handled some of the external pressures we handled, but we did an amazing job doing it.