Feds demand university apologize to female athletes, order policy overhaul

San Jose State University violated Title IX by allowing a biological male on the women’s volleyball team, the Trump administration announced Wednesday.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights determined the public university in Northern California violated federal law with “policies allowing males to compete in women’s sports and access female-only facilities deny women equal educational opportunities and benefits.”

The Office for Civil Rights in 2025 launched an investigation into SJSU after a male who identifies as female competed on its women’s volleyball team, and campus administrators also allegedly retaliated against female students and an assistant coach who protested.

“SJSU caused significant harm to female athletes by allowing a male to compete on the women’s volleyball team—creating unfairness in competition, compromising safety, and denying women equal opportunities in athletics, including scholarships and playing time,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey stated in a news release.

“Even worse,” Rickey added, “when female athletes spoke out, SJSU retaliated—ignoring sex-discrimination claims while subjecting one female SJSU athlete to a Title IX complaint for allegedly ‘misgendering’ the male athlete competing on a women’s team. This is unacceptable.”

To resolve the issue, the feds demand SJSU issue a public statement that it will adopt biology-based definitions of the words “male” and “female” and separate teams and facilities based on biological sex.

The school must also restore individual athletic records and titles “misappropriated by male athletes competing in women’s categories, and issue a personalized letter of apology on behalf of SJSU to each female athlete for allowing her participation in athletics to be marred by sex discrimination,” the Education Department stated.

The controversy began in 2024, when it became public that a a trans-identifying male played on the women’s volleyball team. In protest, several universities forfeited games against SJSU rather than play the team.

In the Education Department’s Wednesday news release on its determination, in addition to privacy concerns, officials noted “the presence of this male athlete presented a safety concern for female athletes and provided SJSU’s volleyball team with an unfair physical advantage over opposing teams.”

“On multiple occasions, the male athlete spiked the ball so forcefully that it knocked females on the opposing team to the ground,” the news release stated, linking to an October 2024 College Fix article headlined: “VIDEO: Brutal spike adds to controversy surrounding SJSU trans volleyball player.”

Independent Women Sports Ambassador Payton McNabb, in a statement Wednesday, praised the Trump administration for its determination.

McNabb is leading voice for women’s sports after sustaining a traumatic brain injury from a volleyball spike by a biological male transgender athlete.

“SJSU failed its female athletes through manipulation, secrecy, and intimidation, all at the expense of their rights and safety. No university should ever pressure women to stay silent or sacrifice their opportunities to spare someone else’s feelings,” McNabb stated.

Alongside this administrative ruling, there are two ongoing Title IX lawsuits against the Mountain West Conference and the NCAA challenging men in women’s sports.

VIDEO: Brutal spike adds to controversy surrounding SJSU trans volleyball player