San Jose State University's women's volleyball team beat Colorado State 3-2 at home on Saturday, making it a 14-5 season for the Spartans.
The win comes in the wake of a lawsuit filed in Colorado earlier this week against the Mountain West Conference, the California State University system, San Jose State's women's volleyball coach and two administrators surrounding the ongoing controversy that one of the Spartans players was reported to be transgender.
The plaintiffs, including SJSU's volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser and 10 athletes from other schools, claim their Title IX rights are being violated by allowing the transgender athlete to play for a women's sports team.
The 132-page suit seeks a court-ordered injunction to prevent the team's transgender player from participating in an upcoming conference tournament.
For privacy concerns, NBC Bay Area is not naming the player, who has not come out publicly as transgender.
"It’s amazing that one person on our team is causing all of these issues," Slusser told Fox News earlier this week.
Marshi Smith, a former NCAA champion swimmer and co-founder of the Independent Council on Women's Sports, said on Thursday to NBC Bay Area it's "important for these athletes to be given their fair chance." The council is financially backing the suit.
"It’s disappointing it's come to this point," she said. "[It's] failure at every level of leadership."
The MWC, where SJSU plays in, said it is taking the suit's allegations seriously.
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"The Mountain West Conference prioritizes the best interests of our student-athletes and takes great care to adhere to NCAA and MW policies," said the MWC in a statement to NBC Bay Area. "While we are unable to comment on the pending litigation of this particular situation, we take seriously all concerns of student-athlete welfare and fairness."
San Jose State University said it is in the process of reviewing the suit.
"We received the complaint and will review and respond appropriately. We have no further comment at this time," SJSU told NBC Bay Area.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) said the law is on the side of the player and the university.
"The law does not permit discrimination against anyone, athletes or anyone else, just because they’re transgender," NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter said. "Sporting organizations are the best situated to come up with reasonable rules and requirements. The NCAA has done that."
NCLR said hopefully a court case can leave out what it calls the politicizing of the issue.
"One benefit about having courts and judges deal with these issues is that they can do it in a way that is dispassionate but applies the law and applies the regulations and the policies that relate to these issues," NCLR Senior Attorney Amy Whelan said.
The suit also comes after it was reported that SJSU's women's volleyball associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was "not with the team at this time" for undisclosed reasons.
Batie-Smoose, who has been coaching the Spartans since 2023, came to the university with more than 20 years of coaching experience, per SJSU's website. Prior to her tenure with the Spartans, she coached at Fairfield University and got her start in Division I coaching at Holy Cross and Cornell universities.
The university confirmed Batie-Smoose's absence earlier this month to NBC Bay Area but did not provide specifics.
On Thursday, Batie-Smoose took to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, claiming that she was "removed" from the team.
"I was removed from my SJSU volleyball team for standing up for my players’ rights, but I’ve gained a new team of courageous women fighting the mistreatment facing all players in the Mountain West Conference," Batie-Smoose said on X.
Batie-Smoose is also a plaintiff in the recently filed lawsuit, is also asking that the losses given to the teams that have forfeited games due to the player be removed.
Already, four teams in the Mountain West Conference — the University of Nevada, Reno, the University of Wyoming, Boise State University and Utah State University — have forfeited games against the Spartans. Separately, Southern Utah University, which is not in the MWC, forfeited its match.
Last month, Batie-Smoose alleged that women's volleyball players from Colorado State and SJSU's program had “conspired to engage in manipulation of the competition” during the match on Oct. 3 in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The MWC and athletic directors from the respective institutions launched investigations and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to determine misconduct from either program. A release on Saturday through a letter dated Friday from Deputy Commissioner Bret Gilliland, detailed the findings of the investigation.
“As a result, the Conference office has determined no disciplinary action is warranted and considers this matter closed,” read Gilliland’s letter.
SJSU also released a statement agreeing with the MWC.
“We appreciate the thorough and impartial investigation conducted by the Mountain West Conference,” the school said Saturday in a release. “The report is consistent with our internal conclusions.”
The protest against the Spartans’ program was fueled after a federal lawsuit was filed against the NCAA.
The lawsuit specifically calls out an NCAA policy that allows transgender athletes to compete on women's teams under certain conditions.
A member of the Spartans volleyball team joined the suit last month, claiming that having a transgender teammate is unsafe for her, her teammates and opposing teams.
The suits have also grabbed the attention of transgender media personality and former Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete Caitlyn Jenner.
"We can’t make it a wiggly line... [it] come down to chromosomes," Jenner said in an interview with Fox News. "[R]equest they take a DNA test."
Due to the controversy, SJSU has provided extra security for the team at home and away matches.
The Spartans are set to play Fresno State on Oct 19 at home. Per the latest ranking by the MWC, which does not include Saturday's win, SJSU was ranked second.
