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A judge on Monday rejected a request to block a San Jose State women's volleyball team member from playing in a conference tournament on grounds that she is transgender. The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews in Denver will allow the player, who has played all season, to compete in the Mountain West Conference women's championship opening this week in Las Vegas. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by nine current players against the Mountain West Conference challenging the league's policies for allowing transgender players to participate. The players argued that letting her compete was a safety risk and unfair. While some media have reported those and other details, neither San Jose State nor the forfeiting teams have confirmed the school has a trans woman volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the player's name because she has not commented publicly on her gender identity. School officials also have declined an interview request with the player. Crews' ruling referred to the athlete as an "alleged transgender" player and noted that no defendant disputed that the San Jose State roster includes a transgender woman player. San Jose State will "continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms," the university said in a statement, confirming that all its student-athletes are eligible to participate under NCAA and 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." The conference did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The players filed a notice for emergency appeal with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Crews said the players who filed the complaint could have sought relief much earlier, noting the individual universities had acknowledged that not playing their games against San Jose State this season would result in a loss in league standings. He also refused a request to re-seed the tournament without the forfeited losses. The judge said injunctions are meant to preserve the status quo. The conference policy regarding forfeiting for refusing to play against a team with a transgender player had been in effect since 2022 and the San Jose State player has been on the roster since 2022 -– making that the status quo. The player competed at the college level three previous seasons, including two for San Jose State, drawing little attention. This season's awareness of her reported identity led to an uproar among some players, pundits, parents and politicians in a major election year. Crews' ruling also said injunctions are meant to prevent harm, but in this case, he argued, the harm has already occurred. The games have been forfeited, the tournament has been seeded, the teams have made travel plans and the participants have confirmed they're playing. The tournament starts Wednesday and continues Friday and Saturday. Colorado State is seeded first and San Jose State, second. The teams split their regular-season matches and both get byes into Friday's semifinals. San Jose State will play the winner of Wednesday's match between Utah State and Boise State — teams that both forfeited matches to SJSU during the regular season. Boise State associate athletic director Chris Kutz declined to comment on whether the Broncos would play SJSU if they won their first-round tournament game. Utah State officials did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. The conference tournament winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. San Jose State coach Todd Kress, whose team has not competed in the national tournament since 2001, has said his team has been getting "messages of hate" and that has taken a toll on his players. Several teams refused to play against San Jose State during the season, earning losses in the official conference standings. Boise State and Wyoming each had two forfeits while Utah State and Nevada both had one. Southern Utah, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, was first to cancel against San Jose State this year. Nevada's players stated they "refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes," without elaborating. Nevada did not qualify for the conference tournament. The nine current players and others now suing the Mountain West Conference, the California State University Board of Trustees and others include San Jose State senior setter and co-captain Brooke Slusser. The teammate Slusser says is transgender hits the volleyball with more force than others on the team, raising fear during practices of suffering concussions from a head hit, the complaint says. The Independent Council on Women's Sports is funding a separate lawsuit against the NCAA for allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. Both lawsuits claim the landmark 1972 federal antidiscrimination law known as Title IX prohibits transgender women in women's sports. Title IX prohibits sexual discrimination in federally funded education; Slusser is a plaintiff in both lawsuits. Several circuit courts have used a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to conclude that discriminating against someone based on their transgender status or sexual orientation is sex-based discrimination, Crews wrote. That means case law does not prove the "likelihood of success" needed to grant an injunction. An NCAA policy that subjects transgender participation to the rules of sports governing bodies took effect this academic year. USA Volleyball says a trans woman must suppress testosterone for 12 months before competing. The NCAA has not flagged any issues with San Jose State. The Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the team cancellations, citing fairness in women's sports. President-elect Donald Trump likewise has spoken out against allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. Crews was a magistrate judge in Colorado's U.S. District Court for more than five years before President Joe Biden appointed him as a federal judge in January. Get local news delivered to your inbox!McLean, Duax lead FGCU over Florida International 60-59
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Missouri governor says he’s ready to go after six years in ‘pressure cooker’ jobThis year, Kim Stark’s kids took responsibility for decorating the family Christmas tree. Ornaments include toy cars, puzzle pieces, string and a pair of binoculars — things her three young daughters had handy after the family lost their home in summer’s devastating Jasper wildfire. “I have the most wonderful tree on the planet,” said Stark. “It’s part of our story and part of who we are. “If (the kids) are happy, I’m happy.” Stark is part of the fabric of the Jasper townsite, a 10-year member of the fire department and owner of a coffee shop and bakery. Her family, plus three furry pets and a fish, are living in a condo as they navigate rebuilding their home. “(The kids) miss our house, and we talk about our house,” said Stark. “We make sure we go to our neighbourhood, so that it doesn’t become somebody else’s neighbourhood.” Stark and other residents are anxious and nervous for the future following the fire that hit the town July 24. About 5,000 residents and 20,000 visitors were safely evacuated before the fire breached the western edge of town and destroyed 350 homes and businesses, including 820 housings units. The Insurance Bureau of Canada pegged the damage at $880 million. Six months after the fire, debris is still being cleared — lot by lot. Locals including Stark are quick to say things could have been worse. But anxiety over temporary living situations and what may be a long and slow rebuild process has many residents and municipal leaders feeling unsettled heading into 2025. For Sabrina Charlebois and David Leoni, the top concern is the Alberta government’s $112-million modular housing project. It’s to put up 250 pre-built rental units in the town and rent them to those displaced by the fire. Social Services Minister Jason Nixon said the first homes should be ready by late January or early February, with the rest in April. The majority are to be multi-bedroom suites to accommodate families. “If we can get all of our approvals on time, we definitely are on time to be able to build in the context of what we promised,” Nixon said. It’s complicated, he added, given there are layers of government with an Alberta town in a national park. Charlebois was born and raised in Jasper. The fire destroyed her childhood home, which her late father built, as well as the salon where she worked. “It’s better than nothing,” she said of the housing project, noting at least 2,000 residents were displaced so demand could outnumber the new units. Charlebois, who has been staying in a hotel, said it’s understandable projects like this take time. But “we’re six months into this, and there’s no homes for anyone.” “My fear is not finding a place to live, because I have to be out of my hotel by the spring,” she said. Leoni, a dentist and former Olympic biathlete, and his family also lost their home, as did seven staff at his clinic. He said the April cutoff date Charlebois is facing also applies to his staff staying in hotels. “Hopefully that’s concurrent with the provincial government’s opening of these modular units that they’re putting in, because we’re going to lose staff,” said Leoni. “Without them I can’t do anything.” The clinic needed to replace $160,000 worth of equipment and required a top-to-bottom scrub before appointments resumed in October. Leoni estimates his patient list is down one-third because of the fire. Whether those patients return remains to be seen. Charlebois and Leoni both said their anxiety is heightened when they consider the unpredictable nature of the town’s tourism economy and how it could complicate the pace of rebuilding. It’s a catch-22: residents need houses in order to rebuild and restart the economy, but they can’t restart the economy without tourists. And tourists require services, which require workers, who require housing. Bill Given, the town’s chief administrator, said he’s optimistic the municipality can “thread the needle.” But he has his own anxieties when it comes to rebuilding, namely the complexity of Jasper operating under both federal and provincial oversight. “An associated risk of that is that individual agendas from different orders of government overtake the public interest in delivering on what Jasper needs,” Given said. “I think there’s also a risk, maybe somewhat smaller, that private interests overtake the broader public interest.” Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland, who lost his home in the fire, said they have to find a way. “Failure is not an option for anybody,” said Ireland. “We have one chance to get this right, and that’s what we have to do.” In the meantime, Stark and her daughters watch from behind a fence as what’s left of their home is cleared away. “I’m super excited just to have a hole instead of a burnt spiral staircase that was coming up in my backyard. “Now,” she said, “it’s just this beautiful dirt. “There’s future there.” Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press