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EXCLUSIVE: The lawsuit filed by former San Jose State University women’s volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser after her experience with a transgender teammate appears to be directly influenced by rulings in a pending Supreme Court case on trans athletes.
Slusser filed a lawsuit against representatives of her school and the Mountain West Conference in the fall of 2024 after she was allegedly forced to share rooms and locker rooms with trans teammate Blaire Fleming for an entire season without being informed that Fleming is a biological male.
A federal judge on Tuesday issued a ruling in the motion to dismiss the case of Slusser v. Mountain West. Colorado District Judge Kato Crews dismissed all of the plaintiffs’ charges against the Mountain West Conference, but did not dismiss charges of Title IX violations against representatives of SJSU and the California State University (CSU) system.
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Left, Brooke Slusser (10) of the San Jose State Spartans serves the ball during the first set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym in Colorado Springs, Colorado on October 19, 2024. Right, Blaire Fleming #3 of the San Jose State Spartans looks on during the third set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images; Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
Crews deferred his decision on whether to dismiss these charges until after the decision in the pending BPJ v. West Virginia Supreme Court case, which is expected to be handed down in June.
“The motion to strike the class allegations is denied,” Crews wrote in his decision. “What remains of the Amended Complaint are Plaintiffs’ claims for Title IX damages against the CSU Board of Trustees… The Court therefore defers its decision on the Title IX damages claims until after the Supreme Court has issued its decision in the BPJ case.“
The CSU provided a statement to PK Press Club Digital in response to Crews’ decision.
“CSU is pleased with the court’s decision. SJSU has complied with Title IX and all applicable laws, and will continue to do so,” the statement said.
Slusser’s attorney, Bill Bock of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, expects a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the legal defense representing West Virginia, helping her case.
“We look forward to the case moving forward,” Bock told PK Press Club Digital.
“I believe the court is going to find that Title IX operates on the basis of biological sex, without regard to the perpetrator or the stated gender, and so, just as Congress and the members of Congress who passed Title IX in 1972, allowed this specifically provided in the regulations that there were to be separate teams of men and women based on biological sex, I think the court is going to see that that is the original meaning of the law and apply it that way, and I think that is going to be a big victory in women’s sport.”
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared poised to rule in West Virginia’s favor after oral arguments on January 13.
Slusser spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court on Jan. 13 as oral arguments were taking place inside, sharing his experience with a divided crowd of opposing protesters.
Bock also said it was “likely” his team would appeal the dismissal of the charges against the Mountain West.
“There’s a real flaw in the Mountain West Conference’s rejection,” Bock said. “I think an appeal is very likely.”
The Mountain West responded in a statement provided to PK Press Club Digital.
“We appreciate the Court’s thorough review of the allegations. We are pleased that the Court has granted Mountain West and Commissioner Nevarez’s motions to dismiss in their entirety. We remain focused on supporting our member institutions and student-athletes,” the statement said.
Judge Crews was nominated by former President Joe Biden in January 2024.
EX-SJSU VOLLEYBALL COACH REACTS AFTER TRUMP’S SCHOOL OF ADMINISTRATIVE RULES VIOLATED TITLE IX WITH MANIPULATION OF TRANS ATHLETES
Crews previously decided to allow SJSU trans athlete Blaire Fleming to continue playing college volleyball in the Mountain West tournament after Slusser and his co-plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to have Fleming ruled ineligible, in November 2024.
“I just have a disagreement with him about what the law is, and particularly as it relates to Title IX,” Bock said of Crews.
With Fleming on its roster, SJSU reached the 2024 conference finals thanks to a forfeit of Boise State in the semifinals. SJSU lost in the final to Colorado State.
Slusser developed an eating disorder due to the anxiety and trauma of the scandal and dropped out of her classes the following semester. The eating disorder became so severe that Slusser said she lost her menstrual cycle for nine months. His decision to drop his classes led to the loss of his scholarship, and his parents said they had to foot the bill for an unfinished final semester of college out of their own pockets.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Education determined in January that SJSU violated Title IX in its handling of the situation involving Fleming and issued an ultimatum to the university to accept a series of resolutions or be referred to the Justice Department.
Among the department’s findings, it determined that a female athlete discovered that the trans student allegedly conspired to have a member of an opposing team punch her face during a game. ED claims that “SJSU failed to investigate the conspiracy, but subsequently subjected the female athlete to a Title IX complaint for ‘misgendering’ the male athlete in online videos and interviews.”
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SJSU athletic director Jeff Konya told PK Press Club Digital in a July interview that he was pleased with how the university handled the situation involving Fleming.
“I think everyone acted in the best way possible, given the circumstances,” Konya said.
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