Utah State Seeks To Join Lawsuit Against Mountain West Centering Around SJSU Transgender Volleyball Player
The lawsuit filed by a dozen women against the Mountain West Conference got a major update on Monday.
Utah State University, one of the schools that forfeited against San Jose State due to the presence of transgender volleyball player Blaire Fleming, is seeking to join the lawsuit as a plaintiff against the conference. The school filed a motion to intervene on Monday evening.
The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that the Mountain West hastily adopted a new "Transgender Participation Policy" to punish teams for forfeiting games against SJSU. The suit also claims Title IX violations that forced women to compete against a biological male in Blaire Fleming.
Utah State University submitted a petition to join a lawsuit filed by a dozen women against the Mountain West Conference that centers around transgender SJSU volleyball player Blaire Fleming.
(Utah State University Athletics & Getty Images)
Several Utah politicians, including Governor Spencer Cox, Senate President J. Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz, urged the school to join the lawsuit earlier Monday.
"Female athletes deserve the right to a safe playing field, fair competition and equal opportunities. By intervening, Utah will send a clear message that these rights are non-negotiable," the trio said in a joint statement.
"The NCAA, Mountain West Conference and other institutions across the nation have failed to take action, thereby undermining vital protections and putting female athletes at risk. We will continue to defend our female athletes and the integrity of our athletic programs."
Utah State volleyball player Kaylie Ray, one of the 12 plaintiffs, applauded her school's decision.
"Until today, college women athletes have stood alone against the combined discrimination of the NCAA and every college athletic conference in the country that follows the NCAA’s misguided policies that allow men to compete against women in college sports," she said in a statement released by the pro-woman organization Independent Council On Women's Sport (ICONS), which is funding and backing the lawsuit.
"Hopefully, Utah State’s action will motivate a flood of schools and college athletic conferences to renounce the NCAA’s anti-women policies."
Utah State volleyball player Kaylie Ray, one of the 12 plaintiffs, applauded her school for joining the suit against the Mountain West Conference centering around SJSU transgender volleyball player Blaire Fleming.
(Utah State University Athletics)
The proposed petition does not guarantee that Utah State will be added as a plaintiff. Rather, a judge will review the petition and make a decision on whether they have due cause to be added.
It's probable that the school will be added to the suit, though, since their volleyball team was adversely impacted by the presence of Fleming on the SJSU team.
An emergency hearing has been set for Thursday in Denver, Colorado. The judge will determine whether to grant the injunction which seeks to disqualify San Jose State from competing in the conference tournament, disqualify Blaire Fleming from competing in the conference tournament, and/or remove the losses from the records of teams who protested by not competing against SJSU – and, subsequently, remove the wins from SJSU.
If only the third condition were applied, Utah State would move from fourth place to second place in the Mountain West and would be in position to earn a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
The Mountain West volleyball tournament is set to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 27, in Las Vegas.