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A Democratic congressman has come forward to support San Jose State University and California State University in their lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., expressed support on social media for SJSU’s legal challenge to the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) findings that the university violated Title IX in its handling of a transgender volleyball player.
“I strongly support SJSU and the lawsuit they just filed against the federal government to prevent punitive action against the university,” Lofgren wrote.
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“The Trump Administration is attempting to freeze its federal funding based on alleged violations of Title IX during the 2022-24 volleyball seasons. These claims are not based on facts or law, and I applaud SJSU for standing firm and defending its students and institutions from these politicized attacks.”
Pak Gazette Digital has reached out to ED for a response.
ED’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced in late January that an investigation into the university over its handling of a trans athlete and other players concluded that the the school violated Title IX and gave the school an ultimatum to resolve the violation by agreeing to a series of conditions.
Among the department’s findings, it was determined that an athlete discovered that the trans student allegedly conspired to have a member of an opposing team punch her in the face during a game. The department states that “SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected the athlete to a Title IX complaint for ‘misgendering’ the male athlete in videos and online interviews.”
But now, instead of complying as the University of Pennsylvania did last summer regarding its handling of trans swimmer Lia Thomas, SJSU and CSU are suing to prevent potential federal funding cuts.
FORMER SJSU VOLLEYBALL STAR OPENS UP TO LIVING WITH A TRANS TEAMMATE WITHOUT KNOWING THE ATHLETE’S BIOLOGICAL SEX
A split image of Blaire Fleming and Todd Kress of the San Jose Spartans. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images and Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
“Because we believe that OCR’s findings are not based on fact or law, SJSU and CSU today filed a lawsuit against the federal government to challenge those findings and prevent the federal government from taking punitive action against the university, including the potential withholding of critical federal funds,” SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson said Friday.
“This is not a step we take lightly. However, we have a responsibility to uphold the integrity of our institution and the rule of law, while ensuring that every member of our community is treated fairly and in accordance with the law. Our position is simple: we have followed the law and cannot be punished for doing so.”
The school also requests that OCR vacate its findings and close its investigation.
Lieutenant-Matson affirmed in the announcement the university’s commitment to advocating for the LGBTQ community.
“Our support for LGBTQ members of our community, who have experienced threats and harm in recent years, remains unwavering. We know that the attention the university has received around this issue and the investigative process that followed has been disturbing to many in our community,” the president said.
“We have heard the fear and anxiety it has created and recognize that waiting for the university’s response has been difficult in a time that is already filled with uncertainty.”
The university and its volleyball program came into the national spotlight in 2024 after it was revealed that the team had included trans athlete Blaire Fleming since 2022.
Former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser joined the lawsuit and ran his own, claiming he was never told Fleming was a biological male when he joined the team and shared dormitories and changing spaces with Fleming without that knowledge. Slusser has since said that he shared an apartment and even, at times, a bed with Fleming without knowing Fleming’s birth sex.
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A federal judge ruled on Slusser’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit last Tuesday. Colorado District Judge Kato Crews dismissed all of the plaintiffs’ charges against the Mountain West Conference, but did not dismiss charges of Title IX violations against the CSU system.
Crews deferred his decision on whether to dismiss those charges until after a decision in the ongoing BPJ v. W.V. Supreme Court case, expected in June.
