Suspended SJSU women's volleyball coach not staying silent in fight to protect girls sports
SJSU women’s volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose joins 'The Faulkner Focus' after filing a complaint about an alleged transgender player on the team and being suspended as a result.
A transgender volleyball player at a high school in northern California was reportedly booed and harassed during a match against a Catholic school Oct. 12, according to ABC 7.
In response, another school's athletic director reportedly told the Catholic school it could face "consequences" from the athletic conference.
The Oct. 12 match was between Notre Dame Belmont in Belmont, California, against Half Moon Bay High School. Half Moon Bay rostered a transgender athlete on its girls team. The game was played at Aragon High School in San Mateo.
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Notre Dame Belmont canceled a match earlier in the season between the two teams due to the transgender athlete.
In response to complaints of boos and harassment, Aragon's athletic director Steve Sell intervened. In his capacity as co-chair of the Peninsula Athletic League Athletic Directors, Sell informed Notre Dame there could be consequences, according to ABC 7.
Notre Dame Belmont responded with a letter to Sell, apologizing on behalf of those accused of booing. The letter also said the Catholic school will adhere to a policy of banning spectators who exhibit such behavior.
"We have enforced our long-held policy to ban spectators from future games (season and postseason) who harass any individual," the letter stated. "We truly regret and apologize for the inappropriate and unsporting behavior by members of the NBD community at this match. NBD is dedicated to ensuring incidents like this never happen again."
Transgender athletes in women's volleyball and subsequent opposition has become a statewide issue in California this year.
At the high school level, another girls volleyball team forfeited a state playoff match because its opponent "has a male athlete playing for their team," the school said.
Stone Ridge Christian High School, located in Merced, was scheduled to face San Francisco Waldorf in the Northern California Division 6 tournament. San Francisco Waldorf had a bye into the semifinals because it was the No. 1 seed in its bracket. But the Christian school forfeited in an announcement just before the match.
"As many of you know, our girls won on Wednesday and advanced to the state playoffs," the school said, via Max Preps. "Unfortunately, we were just informed that our opponent, San Francisco Waldorf, has a male athlete playing for their team.
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"At SRC, we believe God’s Word is authoritative and infallible. It is Truth. And as Genesis makes clear, God wonderfully and immutably created each person as male or female. We do not believe sex is changeable, and we do not intend to participate in events that send a different message. We also have a duty and responsibility to care for the health and safety of our athletes.
"So, after consulting with our students, coaches and staff, we have made the difficult decision to forfeit Saturday’s game. Standing for Biblical truth means more than the outcome of a game."
The player who was referenced is reportedly a three-sport athlete who led San Francisco Waldorf to a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) North Coast Championship last season. The CIF enacted "gender identity participation" rules in 2013.
"All students should have the opportunity to participate in CIF athletics and/or activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity," the policy stated.
Meanwhile, at the college level, San Jose State's volleyball team has been at the center of a national media firestorm over the presence of a transgender athlete on the team and a teammate being involved in multiple lawsuits over the issue.
San Jose State women's co-captain Brooke Slusser has joined a lawsuit against the NCAA and filed her own lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference and her own school alleging she was deceived about the natural birth sex of her teammate, Blaire Fleming, who is a biological male.
The two have continued to play together this season amid the ongoing controversy but have had seven matches on their schedule forfeited. San Jose State will compete in the Mountain West tournament, but a ruling from a Biden-appointed judge after an emergency hearing in Colorado Thursday could prevent that from happening.
A Mountain West spokesperson said it is possible for San Jose State to win the championship if opponents forfeit upcoming tournament games in Las Vegas starting Nov. 27. But federal Judge Kato Crews will deliver a judgment on whether that plan will stand or not, or if the team and transgender player can even compete.
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