MW volleyball tournament bracket set amid transgender controversy
The six-team bracket for the Mountain West volleyball tournament is set, and one matchup could lead to continued protest.
San Jose State (14-6, 12-6) claimed the No. 2 seed. This comes after the team received six of its conference wins via forfeits from four teams amid continued controversy surrounding the participation of transgender athletes in college sports.
The Spartans, along with regular-season winner and No. 1 seed Colorado State (18-10, 14-4), will have a bye when the opening round begins Wednesday at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion.
Utah State (15-13, 12-6) landed the No. 3 seed, followed by No. 4 Fresno State (16-13, 12-6), No. 5 San Diego State (19-9, 11-7) and No. 6 Boise State (18-10, 10-8).
UNLV (15-14, 8-10) finished one spot outside of the top six even though the team voted unanimously to play all of its scheduled matches and defeated San Jose State twice.
To forfeit or not to forfeit?
As it stands now, San Jose State would face the winner Wednesday’s first-round match between Utah State and Boise State.
Both of those teams forfeited to the Spartans in the regular season, setting up another potential cancellation in the semifinals Friday.
A forfeit win would place San Jose State in the championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday with a chance to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Utah State’s forfeits to San Jose State in the regular season cost the Aggies a shot at the No. 2 seed. It’s unclear if Boise State or Utah State would be willing to effectively end their seasons by forfeiting another game.
Both schools are represented in a lawsuit that was filed Nov. 13 against the Mountain West and its commissioner, Gloria Nevarez, for the handling of complaints about San Jose State’s roster allegedly including a transgender player.
Waiting for ruling
Circumstances surrounding the conference tournament could potentially be altered by the lawsuit.
The filing requested an emergency injunction to prevent Blaire Fleming from participating in the conference tournament. Other requests in the lawsuit included disqualifying San Jose State and/or removing the losses from the teams who have refused to compete against the Spartans.
At the emergency hearing Thursday in Colorado, the judge said a decision would be made “as prompt as possible.”
Twelve women are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The list includes San Jose State co-captain Brooke Slusser, who joined a separate lawsuit against the NCAA’s transgender inclusion policies in September, saying that she wants Fleming off the team on the argument that she is transgender.
Fleming has not spoken about her gender identity, and neither has San Jose State. Mountain West policies don’t require teams to confirm speculation about the status of their players, which is at issue in the lawsuit against the conference.
At least two players from each Mountain West team that forfeited to San Jose State this season (Boise State, Utah State, Wyoming and UNR) are represented as plaintiffs.
They claim they are having their constitutional right to free speech and equal protection infringed upon because of the conference’s and the NCAA’s transgender inclusion policies, as well as their Title IX privileges.
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.