No forfeit: MW volleyball final set amid transgender controversy

The stage is set for one more controversial volleyball match at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion.

San Jose State, targeted in season-long protests against the participation of transgender athletes in sports, will face Colorado State in the Mountain West tournament championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday with an NCAA Tournament berth on the line.

The top-seeded Rams, who won the regular-season conference title with a 14-4 record, earned a spot in the title game by beating No. 5 San Diego State 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 in the semifinals Friday.

San Jose State took six forfeit wins in the regular season from Boise State, Utah State, UNR and Wyoming en route to the No. 2 seed. The Spartans have not played a match in the tournament, receiving a first-round bye, then advancing to the final when No. 6 Boise State forfeited.

After Friday’s win, Colorado State coach Emily Kohan confirmed that her team would contest the title match against the Spartans. The move didn’t come as much of a surprise, as the Rams were one of the teams that opted to play all of its scheduled games this year.

“It’s been a really complex and emotional situation this season,” Kohan said. “And unless you’re in those rooms, having those hard conversations and making those hard decisions, I don’t think you truly know how this feels.”

Lawsuit

San Jose State was slated to play in the semifinals, but instead sat and watched the action Friday.

After the Broncos upset No. 3 seed Utah State on Wednesday, Boise State made the late-night announcement that it would give its third forfeit win of the season to the Spartans and end its season.

Although Boise State has not given an official reason for the forfeits as a team or university, two players from the team are represented in a lawsuit filed Nov. 13 against the Mountain West that explicitly states the Broncos didn’t play against the Spartans in protest against an alleged transgender player on San Jose State’s roster.

The lawsuit attempted to have the player disqualified from the tournament, but U.S. Judge S. Kato Crews denied the motion, and a federal appeals court upheld the decision the next day.

Also in the stands Friday was UNLV volleyball coach Malia Shoji, whose team beat the Spartans twice this year after a unanimous vote to play. Following the most recent victory over San Jose State at Cox Pavilion on Nov. 7, Rebels captain Chloe Thomas said UNLV wanted to “be on the side of acceptance.”

For Colorado State, Kohan said the choice to play on Saturday is largely motivated by a five-set loss to Fresno State in the title game last year, which saw the Rams hold multiple match points before falling.

“We get an opportunity to play for another championship tomorrow,” Kohan said. “We’re going to go out there and we’re going to show courage in the way we play, and this can stop with us. We’re not going to pass these difficult conversations on to the NCAA committee or any other team that would have to have those crying conversations in the hotel.”

Kohan added that the team has felt plenty of external pressure not to play, but navigated players’ differing views to land where it did.

“I think it’s easy to sit there and tweet at us what your opinion is, and you’re never going to please everyone,” she said. “I’ll probably get emails either way. … Everyone’s doing the best they can.”

An example of the external forces at play appeared outside of Cox Pavilion in the form of Beth Bourne and another protester who declined to be named.

Bourne, a Davis, California, resident, said the pair drove to Las Vegas that morning to continue the protest efforts they’ve made at San Jose State games this season.

“We believe that girls have the right to fair and safe sport and we should be competing against women of our same sex. So that’s why we’re here,” Bourne said.

She said she’s affiliated with Moms for Liberty, a parental rights political organization that is vocal against the teaching of LGBTQ+ topics in schools.

Bourne added that her efforts have been supported by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, the organization funding two lawsuits against transgender inclusion policies in college sports, and conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA.

UNLV didn’t see any protesters when the Spartans came to town in November. The university also didn’t boast a large crowd when right-wing advocate Riley Gaines spoke on campus against transgender athletes.

Bourne said she received “winks and thumbs-ups” from fans entering Cox Pavilion before the match but wasn’t well-received by San Diego State parents.

“We’re encouraging them to forfeit,” she said. “They probably think their team has a good chance to beat (San Jose State). I think they’re being selfish.”

Rams-Spartans history

Colorado State has plenty of experience in the tournament, and against the Spartans.

The Rams went 1-1 against San Jose State this year, sweeping them 3-0 on Oct. 3 and then losing 3-2 on Nov. 16.

This will be San Jose State’s first title game appearance since 2001, and the program has never won a conference volleyball championship.

In addition to the lawsuit filed last month, Spartans co-captain Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA in September.

In it, Slusser said she wanted teammate Blaire Fleming removed from the team on the allegation that she is transgender.

The Spartans were 9-0 in nonconference play before Slusser’s testimony in the filing.

Fleming and San Jose State have not addressed the allegations that she is transgender. This is her third year on the team. The NCAA’s policies use the hormone and testing guidelines set by the sport’s national governing body (USA Volleyball).

In the lawsuit against the Mountain West, which also names Spartans coach Todd Kress among a group of defendants, suspended San Jose State associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose claimed Fleming conspired with a Colorado State player to fix the Oct. 3 match and injure Slusser.

Kohan was asked about the allegations Friday and declined to comment before referencing the fact that the Mountain West investigated without finding any evidence of wrongdoing.

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.

Up next

Who: Colorado State vs. San Jose State

What: Mountain West volleyball tournament final

When: 2 p.m. Saturday

Where: Cox Pavilion

Watch: Mountain West Network (streaming)