Since 1972, Title IX has advanced opportunities for girls and women in education and athletics by prohibiting sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funding.
In April 2024, President Joe Biden sought to overhaul the federal civil rights law by expanding it to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and extending protections for LGBTQ+ students and athletes.
Including transgender individuals in the definition of "sex" paved the way for biological males to occupy women's safe spaces like restrooms and locker rooms and join their athletic teams.
In September 2024, when Biden was still in office, Concerned Women for America (CWA) filed a civil rights complaint into the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) against San Jose State University (SJSU) for refusing to protect the rights of female athletes under federal law.
At issue was Brayden "Blaire" Fleming, a male player on the women's volleyball team (pictured above) who spiked the ball so forcefully that it knocked multiple females on opposing teams to the floor. During one season, seven teams from other universities forfeited their competitions, accepting a loss rather than competing against a male.
"The Department of Education under Donald Trump took this very seriously quickly when it took office last year and opened up an investigation into SJSU for their practices," says CWA Senior Advisor Doreen Denny.
Now completed, the investigation found that the presence of this male athlete presented privacy and safety concerns for female athletes and provided SJSU's volleyball team with an unfair physical advantage over opposing teams.
"His excellence in play, meaning his male advantage, was definitely showing up on the court," Denny asserts. "There was no getting away from it."
Volleyball may be just a game, but she says there is a basic issue of fairness and safety when it comes to males competing in female sports.
"We're very gratified, especially as an organization, that this has not been ignored," she tells AFN. "In fact, it's been vindicated."
Since returning to office, the Trump administration has opened nearly 50 Title IX investigations into accommodations for transgender students and athletes.
So far, the California Department of Education, the California Interscholastic Federation, and the University of Pennsylvania have also have been found to be in violation over allowing males to compete in female sports. They have been directed to take corrective actions.
Denny says SJSU now has an opportunity to reach a resolution agreement, rather than face further action and enforcement by the Department of Justice.
