Biden-Appointed Judge Sparks Controversy Over Transgender Volleyball Player Decision

Even after Donald Trump’s re-election victory, the contentious debates over transgender inclusion in sports show no signs of abating.

On Monday, a federal judge appointed by President Joe Biden ruled that a biological male identifying as a female could participate in the women’s volleyball tournament for California’s San Jose State University. This decision came despite objections raised by the San Jose State team’s co-captain and other female athletes from competing schools.

The backlash has been intense.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, District Judge S. Kato Crews of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado determined that co-captain Brooke Slusser and other plaintiffs had filed their emergency injunction request too late to affect the tournament, set to begin Wednesday.

In his ruling, Crews also stated that teams forfeiting matches against San Jose State to avoid playing against the transgender athlete would still have those forfeits recorded as losses. These losses contributed to San Jose State earning a No. 2 seed in the Mountain West Conference championship, Fox News reported.

The plaintiffs had sought to exclude the transgender player, identified as "Blaire Fleming" (birth name Brayden Fleming), from the tournament. They also requested that the forfeits be removed from the records and the tournament standings adjusted accordingly.

“The movants have failed to meet their burden to show irreparable harm, a likelihood of success on the merits, or that the balance of harms or equities is in their favor,” Crews wrote, according to Fox News.

Female athletes competing against Fleming might view "irreparable harm" differently than Crews does from his judicial bench. Players have faced Fleming’s powerful "kill spikes," which have reportedly caused injuries during matches.

For teams in the Mountain West Conference, the concept of "equities" might also differ, as some opted to forfeit games rather than compete against a biologically male player.

The decision also drew widespread criticism from activists and social media users, including former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines:

This court ruling adds to the growing controversy surrounding San Jose State’s volleyball team.

As reported by Outkick, the team’s associate coach, Melissa Batie-Smoose, filed a Title IX complaint in October. She alleged that Fleming conspired with a Colorado State player to manipulate a match and deliberately target Slusser for injury. This followed Slusser joining a lawsuit opposing the NCAA’s policy of allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.

In an interview with Outkick published on Sept. 30, Slusser revealed that she was unaware of Fleming's biological sex when she transferred to San Jose State in 2023. She shared a residence with Fleming and three other teammates and even roomed together during travel without knowing Fleming’s background.

“At no point during her recruitment, nor during the 2023 season, was Slusser informed that a male athlete was on the team,” Outkick reported.

Slusser described the revelation as challenging. “It was a really hard pill to swallow, because I couldn’t comprehend the fact that there was a man on the team, and it was almost as if I was in denial for a really long time that this was happening,” she told Outkick.

Batie-Smoose was suspended indefinitely following her Title IX complaint. Speaking to Fox News’ Harris Faulkner, Batie-Smoose expressed no regrets, stating, “I just couldn’t take any more.”

Despite the internal controversy, San Jose State issued a statement thanking Judge Crews for his decision. “We are gratified that the Court rejected an eleventh-hour attempt to change those rules,” the statement said, according to Fox News. “Our team looks forward to competing in the Mountain West volleyball tournament this week.”

In an interview with Oakland’s KTVU-TV, Slusser reiterated her concerns, emphasizing that the issue is about safety and fairness. “I just don’t think it’s right in women’s sports,” she said. “It has nothing to do with the way someone wants to live their life day to day, that’s not an issue. But when it comes to the fairness and safety of women playing, there’s a reason there’s two different divisions for women and men.”