In a bold move, San Jose State University (SJSU) President Cynthia Teniente-Matson announced on Friday that the university, along with the California State University (CSU) system, is taking legal action against the federal government. The lawsuit challenges the U.S. Department of Education’s recent assertion that SJSU breached Title IX regulations concerning a transgender volleyball player.
The Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) concluded an investigation in late January, claiming that SJSU failed to comply with Title IX in its management of a transgender athlete and other team members. OCR has given the university a deadline to rectify the alleged violations by adhering to a set of stipulated conditions.
Contrary to the University of Pennsylvania, which opted for compliance in a similar case involving transgender swimmer Lia Thomas last summer, SJSU and CSU have chosen a different path. They are pursuing legal action to prevent the potential loss of federal funding.
“We are challenging OCR’s findings because we believe they lack a factual and legal basis,” explained Teniente-Matson. “Today, SJSU and CSU have filed a lawsuit to contest these findings and to shield the university from any punitive measures, including the possible withdrawal of essential federal funding.”
Teniente-Matson emphasized the gravity of this decision, stating, “This is not a decision we make lightly. However, we are compelled to uphold the integrity of our institution and the rule of law, ensuring that every community member is treated with fairness and in accordance with legal standards. Our stance is straightforward: we have adhered to the law and should not be penalized for doing so.”
The university is also seeking the retraction of OCR’s findings and the closure of the investigation.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Education for a response.
Teniente-Matson affirmed the university’s commitment to defending the LGBTQ community in the announcement.
“Our support for the LGBTQ members of our community, who have experienced threats and harms over the last several years, remains unwavering. We know the attention the university has received around this issue and the investigative process that followed have been unsettling for many in our community,” the president said.
“We’ve heard the fear and anxiety that it has created and recognize that waiting for the university’s response has been difficult at a time already filled with uncertainty.”
The university and its volleyball program were thrust into the national spotlight in 2024 after it was revealed the team rostered trans athlete Blaire Fleming since 2022.
Former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit and led her own, alleging she was never told Fleming was a biological male when she joined the team and shared bedrooms and changing spaces with Fleming without that knowledge.
Slusser has responded to SJSU and CSU’s decision to sue in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“It makes me so mad that SJSU still refuses to see that everything they did is wrong. I think they’re just too scared to admit it and face the repercussions of their actions!” Slusser said.
Slusser made a public statement on X, calling the decision “absurd.”
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 spike her in the face during a match. The department claims “SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected the female athlete to a Title IX complaint for ‘misgendering’ the male athlete in online videos and interviews.”
Slusser alleged in her November 2024 lawsuit against the Mountain West that she and former assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose were made aware of a meeting between Fleming and Colorado State women’s volleyball player Malaya Jones on Oct. 2, 2024, during which Fleming discussed a plan with Jones to have Slusser spiked in the face during a match the following night.
A federal judge made a ruling in that lawsuit’s motion to dismiss on Tuesday. Colorado District Judge Kato Crews dismissed all the plaintiffs’ charges against the Mountain West Conference but did not dismiss charges of Title IX violations against the CSU system.
Crews deferred his ruling on whether to dismiss those charges until after a decision in the ongoing B.P.J. v. West Virginia Supreme Court case, which is expected in June.
“The Motion to Strike Class Allegations is denied,” Crews wrote in his decision. “What remains of the Amended Complaint is Plaintiffs’ Title IX claims for damages against the CSU Board… So the Court defers ruling on the Title IX damages claims until after the Supreme Court has issued its ruling in B.P.J.“
The CSU provided a statement to Fox News Digital in response to Crews’ ruling.
“CSU is pleased with the court’s ruling. SJSU has complied with Title IX and all applicable law, and it will continue to do so,” the statement said.
