San José State volleyball captain sues school, conference over alleged trans teammate

San José State University (SJSU) women's volleyball captain Brooke Slusser last week filed a lawsuit against her school and conference demanding one of her teammates be blocked from an upcoming tournament.

Several schools have forfeited matchups against the SJSU volleyball team this season. Though none have openly shared a reasoning for their decisions, some have speculated it could be related to an ongoing lawsuit against the NCAA, in which Slusser disclosed feeling concerned for her safety after realizing one of her teammates was transgender.

Slusser, along with several other current and former college volleyball players, now argue in their complaint the Mountain West Conference is violating several equality laws by allowing the alleged transgender player to participate on the team. That document asks the conference to acknowledge it violated these laws and declare biologically male athletes ineligible for women's athletics, as well prevent the athlete from playing in the upcoming Mountain West tournament beginning Nov. 27.

Also on the lawsuit is Melissa Batie-Smoose, who she was removed from her role as assistant coach on the SJSU team after "standing up for my players' rights."

When reached for comment, the Mountain West Conference said while it is "unable to comment on the pending litigation of this particular situation," it "take[s] seriously all concerns of student-athlete welfare and fairness." SJSU told The National News Desk (TNND) it is reviewing the complaint and will "respond appropriately."

SJSU women's volleyball coach Todd Kress in October expressed frustration with "outside noise" in addressing the number of opponents that have canceled games against his team.

"Concentrating on what we can do on the court has, quite frankly, been very tough lately," he said. "There have been outside forces who have sought to divide our team, our university, our conference and our sport. I know it's been weighing on the players in our locker room who have put in years of hard work."

"We have an incredible group of young women who are trying to put the controversy aside," he added. "I just have faith that we'll eventually be able to put the outside noise aside and be able to play for each other and find love for one another again."

TNND reported in October the school's X profile for its women's volleyball team appeared to have restricted comments under its posts. That protection still appears to be in place as of Monday.