Top Utah leaders are asking Utah State University to intervene in a lawsuit aimed at stopping the Mountain West Conference from enforcing its transgender participation policy.
The lawsuit was filed last week by 11 college volleyball players, including USU's Kaylie Ray, asking that a San Jose State University player be declared ineligible for the Mountain West Conference tournament later this month for being transgender.
The player, Blaire Fleming, was outed as a trans woman by a far-right anti-trans website and then her team captain earlier this year but has never publicly confirmed her gender identity.
Several teams, including USU, have since forfeited against San Jose State over Fleming’s inclusion in the team.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, state House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams, all Republicans, asked USU in a joint statement Monday morning asking USU to intervene in the lawsuit against Mountain West. They alleged allowing transgender women to play in women’s sports would be unfair and unsafe.
Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez told the Associated Press last month that Fleming met the eligibility standard to play. Title IX has also been interpreted federally to protect trans and other LGBTQ+ players, though Utah blocked enforcement of those new rules.
