San Jose State women’s volleyball team As the Spartans race toward their first NCAA Tournament berth in more than two decades, he finds himself in the eye of a storm.

Overshadowing the show’s strong season are national talk show hosts and politicians weighing in on one of its performers. At issue is the participation of transgender women in women’s sports, which has political ramifications (Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump recently spoke out on the issue) and is apparently why five teams have canceled their games against San Jose State.

On Thursday night, the University of Nevada, Reno became the latest team to cancel its game against the Spartans due to not having enough players available. The Wolf Pack were originally scheduled to host San Jose State this weekend, but Nevada players announced Without giving further details, they stated that they would not appear in court, saying that they “refused to participate in any match that promotes injustice against female athletes”. Nevada’s athletic department said it would not withdraw from the game, citing the state’s parity laws, but also said no players would be disciplined if they did not participate.

The game was moved to San Jose, Calif., “in the best interest of both programs,” the teams said in a joint statement without further explanation before Nevada elected to forfeit.

So far this season, Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State and now Nevada have canceled games. Considering that Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State and Nevada are members of the Mountain West conference, these contests are considered forfeits and count as valuable wins for San Jose State in the league standings.

In a case Lawsuit filed against NCAAThe plaintiffs cited vague reports claiming there was a transgender player on the San Jose State volleyball team, even naming her. While this and other details have been reported in some media, neither San Jose State nor the teams receiving the suspension have confirmed that there is a transgender female volleyball player at the school. The Associated Press is withholding the player’s name because he has not publicly commented on his gender identity and declined an interview request through school officials.

More on the San Jose State issue and what’s at stake:

Who is involved?

The Independent Women’s Sports Council is funding a lawsuit against the NCAA for allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports. It is an action carried out within the scope of The landmark 1972 federal anti-discrimination law known as Title IX and aims to “address gender discrimination against women in college athletics.” Former University of Kentucky swimmer and activist Riley Gaines, who campaigns against transgender women in women’s sports, is the plaintiff.

Title IX prohibits sexual discrimination in federally funded education.

San Jose State senior setter and co-captain Brooke Slusser joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff on Monday.

Slusser said in a recent filing that his teammate hit the volleyball harder than others on the team, and that throughout practice this season, he and some teammates not named in the lawsuit feared they would suffer concussions from the blow. volleyball header.

It’s a political issue

A. 2023 Gallup survey 69 percent of Americans say transgender athletes should only be allowed to compete on teams that match the gender they were assigned at birth; this rate increased to 61 percent in 2021.

As the election campaigns wind down, many Republicans have turned this way. Rhetoric and ads targeting transgender people to motivate his conservative base.

The GOP governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements supporting the cancellation of teams, citing fairness in women’s sports. Last week, when Trump was asked what could be done about transgender athletes in women’s sports, he replied: “You ban it. The President forbids it. You just don’t let it happen.”

Kadence Otto, a professor of sports management at Western Carolina University, saw hypocrisy in politicians’ objections that bans are necessary to protect women.

“There are politicians who say women can’t control their own bodies, right? As for their own rights, you know whether to have children or not,” Otto said.

What does San Jose State say?

San Jose State coach Todd Kress said the extra attention was hurting his team, which is trying to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001.

“They’re getting hate messages, which to me is completely ridiculous,” said Kress, whose team is 11-3 overall this season. “Would you want your student-athlete, your daughter, to face the same hatred you directed?”

Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez recently told the AP: that the turmoil was his business.

“It breaks my heart because they, the people on both sides of this issue, are getting negative attention nationally as young people and student-athletes,” Nevarez said. “It doesn’t seem right to me.”

How do some opposing players feel?

earnings A photo of female volleyball players wearing t-shirts was published on social media “BOYcott” was written on the State of Utah. The Aggies forfeited Wednesday’s game. Nevada players held a team meeting to discuss the school’s decision to play at San Jose State before the venue changed from Nevada to California and the game was canceled by the Wolf Pack on Thursday.

“We decided to stand in solidarity with the other teams that have already been defeated and not participate in a game that furthers gender-based discrimination or injustice against female athletes,” Nevada senior Sia Liilii told OutKick. Fox Corp website

Colorado State also had a team meeting and chose to play.

“This is an incredibly complex and divisive issue,” Rams coach Emily Kohan said after her team handed San Jose State its first loss of the season on Oct. 3. their own self and what is important to them.”

How did we get to this point?

Some athletic associations, legislatures and school districts have sought in recent years to restrict the ability of transgender athletes, particularly transgender girls and women, to compete in accordance with their gender identity.

They and their supporters say transgender women’s participation encroaches on the space Title IX created for women and girls. And in one sticking point, they argue that trans women have a natural physical advantage over cisgender women.

In 2022, swimmer Lia Thomas became the first athlete to come out as transgender. Win the NCAA Division I national championship. Gaines’ lawsuit details how she and other swimmers felt when they learned they would be sharing a locker room with Thomas at that season’s championships in Atlanta. Thomas swam towards Pennsylvania. Before gender transition, she competed for the men’s team at Penn.

World Aquatics has effectively banned transgender women from participating in women’s competitions. So did World Athletics, the governing body for the sport of athletics. In 2022, the NCAA revised its policies regarding transgender athlete participation, adding national and international sports officiating standards to its rules.

these rules It came into force this year. According to them, USA Volleyball policies apply to NCAA competitors in the sport. USA Volleyball says a transgender woman must suppress testosterone for 12 months before competing, and the NCAA has reported no problems with San Jose State.

Supporters of transgender athletes argue that sweeping restrictions outweigh the prevalence of the problem, citing, among other things, a handful of high-profile examples like Thomas.

Do trans women have an advantage in sports?

Proponents and opponents of restrictions each point to limited studies that support their point of view. The science is still in its infancy, said Joanna Harper, a postdoctoral researcher on transgender athletic performance at Oregon Health and Science University.

Harper said trans women are, on average, taller, larger and stronger than cisgender women, even after hormone therapy. But it also potentially has disadvantages.

“Their larger frames are now supported by reduced muscle mass and reduced aerobic capacity, which can lead to disadvantages in quickness, endurance, recovery, etc.,” he said.

An important nuance that is often overlooked is whether a trans woman experiences male puberty with lots of testosterone and then transitions or whether she enters female puberty with the help of hormone therapy that suppresses testosterone production.

“There are some distinct differences between trans women who have gone through puberty and trans women who have not gone through puberty,” Harper said.

Anti-trans discourse often characterizes trans girls and women as “biological males.” But that’s not the case, Harper said.

“Human biology, that is, sexual biology, is complex and involves many factors,” Harper said. “And it’s not universally accepted what exactly those factors are.”

What does Title IX say?

In April, President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration finalized new rules on Title IX that also prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The administration initially had plans to impose outright bans on transgender athletes but postponed that through the election year. Supporters of the bans complained that even the finalized rule required schools to allow transgender participation in sports; However, the law does not specifically mention sports.

The fate of the new rule is uncertain. Officials in many states — California, home of San Jose County, are not among them — sued to block it and were supported by rulings from federal courts. US Supreme Court majority wrote in August He said he refused to question those decisions.

Associated Press writer Deepti Hajela, AP Sports Writers Mark Anderson and Janie McCauley and freelancer Glen Rosales contributed to this report.

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