Judge says San Jose State can stay in MW tournament with full roster

No. 2 seed San Jose State will remain in the six-team bracket for the Mountain West volleyball tournament in Las Vegas with its full roster intact after a decision from a judge in the U.S. District Court for Colorado on Monday.

A lawsuit filed by 12 women against the Mountain West and commissioner Gloria Nevarez on Nov. 13 requested an emergency injunction for San Jose State senior outside hitter Blaire Fleming to be disqualified from the tournament on the allegation that she is transgender.

Judge S. Kato Crews denied the motion about Fleming’s participation, along with motions to change the seeding of the tournament.

The denial said the plaintiffs’ argument failed to show probable irreparable harm or the necessity for such “drastic” action. The court also said the plaintiffs had plenty of time to file the case before this month and avoid an emergency request, as most of their allegations are based on events that occurred in September or earlier.

The tournament begins Wednesday at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion. The Spartans (14-6, 12-6 Mountain West) have a first-round bye, with six of their conference wins coming from forfeitures made in protest.

San Jose State, along with some of its athletics and communications personnel, were named in the lawsuit along with California State University, the public university system that governs San Jose State.

Both entities released statements Monday expressing satisfaction with the ruling.

“All San Jose State University student-athletes are eligible to participate in their sports under NCAA and Mountain West Conference rules,” San Jose State said in its statement. “We are gratified that the Court rejected an eleventh-hour attempt to change those rules. Our team looks forward to competing in the Mountain West volleyball tournament this week.”

California State University offered similar thoughts in its statement.

“The California State University fully supports its student-athletes and their right to play and compete in the sports they love,” California State University said in its statement. “The CSU does not tolerate discrimination of any kind, on or off the court. We applaud the Court’s decision and will be cheering on the San Jose State University volleyball team as they continue to compete for a championship in the Mountain West Conference tournament.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.