The San Jose State University volleyball team, which has been the subject of a national discussion about women in sports, defeated Colorado State University 27-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16 in the Mountain West tournament finals on Saturday. With the loss, the Spartans’ season was over.
The Rams (20-10) earned the conference’s automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Tournament.
San Jose State’s season has been marked by forfeited elections, limited protests and gender identity becoming a politicized issue in an election year. The Spartans went 14-6.
The controversy didn’t end during the Mountain West tournament.
Boise State, which twice boycotted regular-season games against San Jose State, withdrew from the conference tournament Wednesday night, hours after defeating Utah State and securing a spot against the Spartans in Friday’s semifinals. did.
The Broncos have not announced a clear reason for their withdrawal, but players from various schools in Colorado recently filed a lawsuit against the conference and San Jose state officials seeking to prevent Spartans players from participating in the tournament. They even cited her name, citing unspecified reports that claimed there was a transgender player on the San Jose State volleyball team.
U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Cruz in Denver ruled Monday that the player would be allowed to play, and a federal appeals court upheld that decision the next day.
San Jose State was stripped of six wins during the regular season due to opponent boycotts, but received a first-round bye as the second seed in the conference tournament.
In addition to Boise State, Mountain West members Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and Southern Utah have also canceled games against the Spartans this season. Nevada players said they would “refuse to participate in any game that promotes injustice against female athletes,” without providing further details.
Although some media outlets have reported these and other details, San Jose State has not confirmed that the school has a trans female volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the athlete’s name because she has not publicly commented on her gender identity and declined interview requests through school officials.
Ahead of recent elections, transgender women’s participation in women’s sports has become a major political topic.
There were two protesters outside Cox Pavilion on Friday, but no one was there Saturday. There were no noticeable signs of hostility among the crowd of about 100 during the championship game.
___
AP College Sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
