Former Athlete Brooke Slusser Calls Supreme Court Decision a 'Biggest Win' for Women's Sports

Former San Jose State University volleyball player Brooke Slusser has characterized the Supreme Court's recent endorsement of states' authority to protect women's sports as the most significant triumph female athletes have achieved to date.

For Slusser, who has become a prominent voice in the movement to safeguard women's sports since speaking out about a transgender player on her volleyball team in 2024, the high court's decision holds profound personal meaning.

"I mean, it’s amazing," Slusser conveyed. "It’s the biggest win we’ve had yet, so I couldn’t be happier. We couldn’t ask for more right now."

A Personal Battle for Fair Play and Privacy

Last year, Slusser initiated legal action concerning her time at SJSU. She stated that she and her teammates were not informed that fellow player Blaire Fleming was transgender, despite sharing various intimate team environments, including hotel rooms, locker rooms, and living quarters.

"I found out from other student-athletes at the university, so it wasn’t even the institution itself that informed us, which makes it even worse," Slusser explained. "My whole team had to find out on their own through other student-athletes."

Slusser emphasized that her concerns extended beyond mere athletic competition. She contended that female athletes were denied the fundamental right to make informed choices regarding their own privacy and comfort in shared personal spaces.

"It’s taking away the student-athlete’s choice to choose which safe spaces they’re in," she asserted. "You’re going into locker rooms, or for my situation, my living space, and being told these are all women, thinking I’m comfortable doing whatever I need to be doing, changing and getting dressed where I want to. And then I found out the whole time that I’ve been sharing hotel rooms, locker rooms, my living space with a man."

Slusser further elaborated on her perspective, stating, "They’re stripping me of my choice to basically choose where I want to get ready and who I am getting ready around. That’s the biggest issue. It’s not even just about safety in the sport as well, it’s about everything else that goes into it."

The controversy surrounding the SJSU volleyball team became a widely recognized example within the ongoing discussion about the inclusion of transgender-identifying athletes in women’s sports. During that season, multiple Mountain West Conference teams forfeited matches against San Jose State due to concerns about Fleming’s participation.

The Impact on Competition and Athlete Safety

Even as a teammate of Fleming, Slusser voiced concerns about the physical disparities encountered during practice sessions.

"I just had to practice with him. I wasn’t even playing against him in a real game," Slusser recounted. "So the bare minimum, at least I got to know his tendencies so I could keep myself a little bit safer. But even then, I’m still getting slammed in my body. I had bruises on my legs from getting hit with a ball."

She highlighted that opposing teams faced an even greater disadvantage, lacking any prior familiarity before entering the court.

"These other teams don’t know what they’re walking into," Slusser pointed out. "That’s even worse than what I had to go through going into practice every single day, trying to keep myself safe."

Slusser also brought up the case of former high school volleyball player Payton McNabb, who sustained serious injuries in 2022 after being struck in the face by a spiked ball from a transgender opponent.

"This could ruin people’s lives, not even just in athletics, but overall," Slusser warned. "Payton McNabb will never be the same from what happened to her, and that’s what we’re trying to stop."

Landmark Legal Victory Upholds State Authority

The Supreme Court’s recent decision, stemming from cases such as West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, firmly establishes the authority of states to maintain distinct sports categories for women and girls based on biological sex. This ruling represents a significant triumph for advocates who have consistently argued that Title IX was originally designed to safeguard female athletes, not to compel them to compete against biological males.

Slusser contended that San Jose State failed its female athletes by prioritizing Fleming over the rest of the team roster.

"The fact that they allowed these student-athletes that were men pretending to be women be protected under those Title IX rules that were meant for women to be protected in is the biggest fault that happened," Slusser stated. "My institution itself, SJSU, they decided to protect a man and not worry about the 18 other women that should have been protected as well."

For Slusser and other women who have publicly championed this cause, the recent Supreme Court ruling signifies a long-awaited legal affirmation. Furthermore, for states that have already enacted legislation to protect women's sports, the Supreme Court has now explicitly clarified their constitutional power to enforce these measures.