A federal judge appointed by President Joe Biden has denied a motion for injunctive relief allowing the Mountain West Conference volleyball tournament to proceed with San Jose State transgender player Blaire Fleming. The motion is part of a lawsuit against the conference which seeks to protect female athletes and women’s sports. The judge was confirmed along party lines by the Democrat-controlled Senate earlier this year.

As reported by Outkick:

Judge S. Kato Crews, a Joe Biden-nominee who was confirmed along party lines by the Democrat-controlled Senate in February, denied a series of motions that sought to disqualify Fleming from playing in the tournament and to negate losses by teams that forfeited games against SJSU during the regular season.

The judge, who spent the first 30 minutes of Thursday’s emergency hearing discussing which pronouns to use when talking about Fleming, also ruled against Utah State joining the lawsuit.

“The movants have failed to meet their burden to show irreparable harm, a likelihood of success on the merits, or that the balance of harms or equities is in their favor,” Crews wrote in his decision.

“No Defendant disputed that SJSU rosters a trans woman volleyball player,” Crews wrote.

Despite that acknowledgment, Crews wrote that Title IX must include protection for trans-identifying people, citing precedents set by the 10th Circuit and the Supreme Court.

This rationale is consistent with the Biden Administration’s re-write of Title IX that changed the language in Title IX from “sex” (which is biological) to “gender identity” (which is not rooted in science).

After the ruling, San Jose State University stated, “San José State University will continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms. All San José State University student-athletes are eligible to participate in their sports under NCAA and Mountain West Conference rules. 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.”

Last month, the University of Nevada Reno women’s volleyball team forfeited their match against San Jose State University. The team specifically cited “fairness and safety concerns” as their reasons for forfeit.

Following the forfeit, UNR’s volleyball team rallied with Riley Gaines in Reno to protect women’s sports and drew a crowd that featured Nevada’s Lieutenant Governor Stavros Anthony who vowed to push for legislation to protect female athletes.

Last week, Lt. Gov. Anthony sent a letter to Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez encouraging her to protect female athletes in the conference by establishing a clear policy that prohibits biological males from competing against female athletes.

In his letter, Anthony notes that several women volleyball teams within the Mountain West Conference have prioritized the safety of their female athletes by forfeiting numerous games. Anthony also cites Title IX as the basis to ensure equal opportunities for female athletes:

In recent weeks, several women volleyball teams within the Mountain West Conference have forfeited games to prioritize the safety of their female athletes. This situation has risen from the Mountain West Conference’s lack of a clear policy that prohibits biological males from competing in women’s sports.

This failure undermines the integrity of collegiate competition and is unfair to the female athletes who have dedicated years of training and sacrifice to reach this level of competition. This failure undermines the integrity of collegiate competition and is unfair to the female athletes who have dedicated years of training and sacrifice to reach this level of competition.

I would like to acknowledge the courage and bravery of the athletes who have spoken out, particularly the University of Nevada, Reno Women’s Volleyball team, for standing up to preserve the principles of Title IX when the Conference itself has not.

Title IX was designed to recognize and respect the biological differences between men and women, ensuring that both genders can participate in educational programs and sports on an equal footing. To ignore these differences is not only unjust but also places the safety and well-being of female athletes at risk.

Last year, Governor Joe Lombardo joined eight other GOP governors and sent a letter to the NCAA in response to a recently enacted NCAA transgender policy which allows the individual governing body of each sport to determine criteria for eligibility. The governors urged the association to “rewrite your Transgender Student Athlete Policy to protect, preserve, and encourage fairness in women’s athletics.”

The first round of the Mountain West Tournament begins in Las Vegas on Wednesday with Utah State facing Boise State in the first round. The winner of that match would face San Jose State in the next round. Both Utah State and Boise State forfeited their matches against San Jose State during the regular season.