(LifeSiteNews) — A male athlete competing for the San Jose State University women’s volleyball team will be allowed to continue doing so during the upcoming Mountain West Conference tournament.
On Monday, Biden-appointed District Court Judge S. Kato Crews ruled that Brandon “Blaire” Fleming, a redshirt senior, will be allowed to compete in San Jose’s upcoming games.
An emergency injunction had been filed by nine female collegiate volleyball players against the Mountain West Conference, with San Jose senior co-captain Brooke Slusser among them. They had been seeking to prevent Fleming from competing.
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Crews denied their appeal, saying that their suit should have been filed earlier, as Fleming has been active on the women’s team since 2022.
San Jose is the number two seed for the tournament. It will play the winner of Utah State and Boise State, teams that forfeited to San Jose during the regular season due to Fleming’s inclusion on its roster. Neither team has said what it will do if forced to square off against San Jose State again.
Assistant San Jose State head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended indefinitely last month after she filed a 33-page Title IX complaint over Fleming, who she said has a clear advantage with his powerful spikes.
“I just want to protect women’s sports and protect the members of our team,” she told sports website Outkick.
Female sports activist Riley Gaines as well as GOP politicians have drawn attention to Fleming’s participation.
“No student-athlete should ever be pressured to play a game where they don’t feel safe — period,” Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo said after the University of Nevada’s women’s team refused to take the court against San Jose State.
“Incredibly proud of these girls this is the way!!!” Gaines likewise remarked.
Men competing in women’s sports was a major campaign issue for Donald Trump. During an appearance on Fox News last month, Trump said he would “ban” men playing against women via executive action if elected.
“It’s a man playing in a (women’s) game,” he plainly stated.
In 2022, a female high school volleyball player in North Carolina suffered a concussion after a gender-confused player from the other team hit her in the head with a ball traveling roughly 70 miles per hour.