In response to conservative concerns about transwomen athletes—biological men—competing in women’s sports, the left typically either denies the issue or insists it poses no disadvantage to biological female athletes. However, the story of former San Jose State University (SJSU) women’s volleyball player Brooke Slusser reveals the harsh reality: gender ideology extremism has left women unprotected.
Slusser, who joined Riley Gaines’s lawsuit against the NCAA in September 2024, is also a plaintiff in a lawsuit against SJSU and the Mountain West Conference, which was filed in November 2024. Slusser, along with 11 other plaintiffs, claimed that her coaches and administrators withheld the true sex of her transgender teammate, Blaire Fleming.
“Slusser has alleged that she was never told what Fleming’s biological sex was when Slusser transferred to San Jose State in 2023, one year after Fleming did,” according to Fox News Sports. “Slusser also alleges she shared living spaces with Fleming and frequently was assigned to share hotel rooms for road games because Fleming requested it.” Like many female athletes, Slusser felt uncomfortable sharing intimate spaces, such as the locker room, with a biological male.
Fleming stands taller than most female volleyball players and is known for spiking the ball at speeds women struggle to defend. He began his college career at Coastal Carolina in 2020. After his freshman season, Fleming entered the transfer portal and didn’t compete for 22 months. Remaining at Coastal Carolina would have violated South Carolina’s Save Women’s Sports Act, passed in May 2022, which bars biological men from women’s sports, as reported by Fox. Former SJSU head volleyball coach Trent Kersten allegedly recruited Fleming as a transfer and awarded him a full scholarship—despite reportedly knowing Fleming is male.
Since taking a stance, however, Slusser has “faced on-campus harassment, online threats and mental health issues.” Once the co-captain of the women’s volleyball team at SJSU, she has been ostracized from campus. And having been subjected to severe harassment, Slusser—and some other teammates—are now completing their final semester online.
[RELATED: San José State’s Dispiriting Volleyball Saga]
Slusser’s case shows how gender ideology in higher education has blurred the line between inclusion and fairness. Transgender advocates insist that transgender athletes deserve the same opportunities as “cis, straight” (a term coined by the left to mean a person whose gender identity aligns with his or her sex at birth) students but ignore the reality that allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports puts female athletes at a disadvantage. Men who have undergone puberty retain biological advantages that undermine fair competition, costing women like Slusser titles, equal competition, and even their sense of safety.
Beyond competition, privacy concerns in shared spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms further complicate the issue. Historically, women have fought for sex-segregated spaces to ensure their safety and comfort. However, under gender identity policies, objections to transgender individuals in these spaces are often dismissed as discriminatory. Expecting female athletes to accept biological males in areas where privacy should be guaranteed—or risk being labeled intolerant—is both unfair and dangerous.
Though Biden’s 2024 Title IX rule—expanding sex to include gender identity—was struck down in January by a federal court in Kentucky, it opened the floodgates for full transgender access to sports teams, locker rooms, and bathrooms. Now, the Trump administration is doubling down on eliminating gender ideology in schools. In January, the Department of Education—now slated for shutdown—announced it would enforce Title IX under the 2020 rule, which defines sex as binary. Trump has also mandated that colleges comply with his executive order banning biological males from women’s teams or risk federal funding cuts and legal action.
Inclusion of transgender athletes has, in practice, led to the exclusion of female athletes. Slusser, for example, has been pushed to the sidelines, stripped of fair competition, and even forced to the online abyss. What was framed as a push for equality has instead sacrificed women’s rights and safety in the name of ideology. But with legal challenges mounting and policy shifts underway, the tide may be turning. As institutions face renewed scrutiny and consequences for prioritizing inclusion over fairness, there is hope that women’s sports will once again be protected as a space for female athletes.
Image: “SJSU sign” by San José Public Library on Flickr & mbongo on Adobe Stock; Asset ID#: 45099919
