SALT LAKE CITY — After calls from Utah political leaders to intervene in a lawsuit over a perceived transgender student athlete, Utah State University is asking a federal judge to rescind its documented loss to San Jose State University.
On Monday morning, Governor Spencer Cox, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President J. Stuart Adams called for USU to intervene. By Monday evening, the Utah Attorney General's Office filed a motion in a federal court in Colorado on behalf of USU.
"Female athletes deserve the right to a safe playing field, fair competition and equal opportunities. By intervening, Utah will send a clear message that these rights are non-negotiable. The NCAA, Mountain West Conference and other institutions across the nation have failed to take action, thereby undermining vital protections and putting female athletes at risk. We will continue to defend our female athletes and the integrity of our athletic programs," the three Utah political leaders said in a statement.
The filing seeks to rescind the wins awarded to SJSU after USU and other universities (including Southern Utah University in Cedar City) forfeited their matches in volleyball, thus improving their standings. They are suing the Mountain West Conference, its commissioner and San Jose State University. The athlete in question has not come out publicly as being transgender.
"Plaintiff and USU student athlete Kailey Ray expressed concerns about fairness and physical safety. And student athletes on the USU team agreed with Ms. Ray. In October 2024, in response to an anonymous survey, the majority of student athletes on the USU women’s volleyball team indicated that they did not want to play their regular season match against SJSU due to concerns of fairness and to communicate that they do not agree with the TPP and hold strong personal and political beliefs that transgender women should not be permitted to compete in women’s sports," wrote assistant Utah Attorney General Stanford Pursuer in the filing shared with FOX 13 News on Monday.
"Some of the student athletes indicated that competing against a transgender volleyball student-athlete was dangerous and/or were concerned about their safety. Consistent with the TPP, USU’s decision to act in line with state policy and the input of its student athletes and to cancel the regular season match against SJSU resulted in a forfeit that the MWC charged as a loss for USU and a win for SJSU. But had USU somehow forced its team to play the match contrary to some team members’ concerns implicating USU’s Title IX obligations, USU would have risked violating Title IX’s provisions and losing federal funding. USU has a protected interest in ensuring its compliance with Title IX to maintain continued receipt of an important funding source to help further USU’s mission."
Ray recently joined the lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference and alleged that she had experienced pushback over her stance. She was photographed wearing a T-shirt saying "BOYcott" and said she was told that some found it "disasteful."
The Utah Attorney General's Office argued that had USU's cancellation been regarded as a "no contest" and not a loss? "USU would retain the opportunity to win the conference outright and have a 1 seed in the conference tournament and be much more likely to make the NCAA tournament. Instead, because USU was awarded a loss for the match cancellation and because SJSU has been awarded a win, USU currently shares third place and its likelihood of a number 1 or 2 seed is significantly diminished," Purser wrote.
In a statement to ESPN on the original lawsuit, the Mountain West Conference said: "The Mountain West Conference prioritizes the best interests of our student-athletes and takes great care to adhere to NCAA and MW policies. While we are unable to comment on the pending litigation of this particular situation, we take seriously all concerns of student-athlete welfare and fairness."
Read the state of Utah's filing here:
