San José State University assistant women’s volleyball coach has filed a renewed lawsuit claiming her termination for objecting to a transgender athlete’s roster spot violated sex-discrimination rules and the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Religious belief and Title IX claim
The plaintiff, a self-identified Christian who believes “God created human beings male and female,” alleges she was fired after raising concerns that she could not “in good conscience treat a male athlete as female.” She alleges that the school’s actions may constitute retaliation and that the decision conflicts with her sincerely held faith.
In 2024 she lodged a formal complaint with the campus Title IX office and also contacted other university administrators. The institution suspended her duties and later declined to renew her position in 2025. The plaintiff said she learned of the player only a short time after she began her employment at SJSU in 2023. She initially filed her lawsuit against SJSU and other defendants in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in September 2025, but a federal judge later granted a motion to transfer the venue to the Northern District.
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University’s stated reasons and alleged monitoring
According to the lawsuit, the head coach confirmed the athlete’s gender identity, warned the assistant not to disclose that information, and threatened termination for any breach of the directive. After receiving that warning, the assistant reportedly told the head coach she could not comply with the roster decision because it conflicted with her conscience. Following the warning, a team co-captain joined a separate lawsuit against the conference in September, alleging Title IX violations. The plaintiff later told the head coach that further discussion could result in termination, submitted her Title IX complaint shortly thereafter, and allegedly disclosed the complaint to the media.
The plaintiff alleged that SJSU assigned its assistant athletic director of diversity, equity and inclusion to ‘monitor’ her and ensure that she did not discuss the issue. SJSU acknowledged receipt of the plaintiff’s Title IX complaint and requested a meeting, which the plaintiff says did not occur until after she had been removed from the volleyball program and placed on administrative leave.
School officials later argued the suspension was justified because the assistant allegedly shared personally identifiable information, which they said breached the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. The plaintiff disputed this finding in her complaint, claiming that the information she disclosed ‘was from public or personal knowledge’ rather than FERPA-protected.
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Federal findings and broader implications
In January 2026, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights determined the university partially violated Title IX by treating the assistant differently from the head coach, who spoke to the media without facing suspension. The agency’s finding noted that SJSU violated Title IX in part by subjecting the plaintiff to disparate treatment in employment on the basis of sex.
It is also part of a broader shift at the federal level with respect to the occasional clash between employees with sincerely held religious beliefs and the concept of gender identity.
