(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced this past week that San José State University violated Title IX due to its policies allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.
The investigation began at the beginning of 2025 following a 2024 civil rights complaint filed by Concerned Women for America, which alleged the California university failed to protect the rights of female athletes under federal law.
“Educational institutions have a responsibility under federal law to protect every student’s right to learn in a safe environment free from unlawful discrimination and to prevent unjust deprivations of that right,” the complaint stated. “This includes students who experience gender dysphoria, but it also includes female students, who make up over 50% of post-secondary students.”
Gabrielle Antolovich, board president and CEO at the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center in San Jose, told The Center Square in an exclusive interview that the Trump administration’s actions against transgender athletes represent a broader test of how far it can go, noting that transgender people make up a small minority in the U.S.
“It is an attack on minorities of every kind,” Antolovich said. “If we have to stand up with San Jose State to support them standing up to the federal education system, we will do that.”
There are over 2 million adults who identify as transgender, and 32.7% are transgender women, according to University of California, Los Angeles’ Williams Institute, and less than 0.002% make up U.S. college athletes.
Antolovich said if the administration is enforcing what she called a “twisted” interpretation of Title IX, the government should also be held to full compliance with all laws.
“It is interesting to me that a lawless institution is forcing another institution to follow the law,” Antolovich said. “If I am being told by a crooked person that I have to follow their direction … I have no respect for that.”
Debate continues over how Title IX should be interpreted. Antolovich said when people engage in debate to seek understanding, the people and their government thrive.
The issue arose after former San José State University volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser joined multiple lawsuits against the NCAA, alleging that in 2023 she shared intimate spaces with a teammate, Blaire Fleming, without knowing Fleming was transgender. Former assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was later suspended after filing a Title IX complaint against the university over its transgender policies.
Jennifer Sey, founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics, told The Center Square in an email that she is grateful for the Department of Education’s actions and thanked Slusser and Batie-Smoose for standing up to protect women’s sports and spaces despite facing harassment and suspension.
“[W]omen are not a category that can be opted into,” Sey said. “The right resolution was reached. And we are one step closer to saving women’s sports.”
Antolovich said women and students who praise the administration’s Title IX efforts have been “propagandized,” saying they are led to view transgender women as men or are influenced by others in their lives who hold that belief.
Antolovich added she believes education is the solution, emphasizing the need for the broader community to engage openly and learn about the experiences of people in the LGBTQ+ community.
“A real debate is where people listen to each other and open up to other possibilities and come together with a solution that does work for everyone,” Antolovich said.
Payton McNabb, an Independent Women sports ambassador, commended the administration and the Department of Education for taking this issue seriously.
“SJSU failed its female athletes through manipulation, secrecy and intimidation, all at the expense of their rights and safety,” McNabb said. “No university should ever pressure women to stay silent or sacrifice their opportunities to spare someone else’s feelings.”
OCR issued a proposed resolution agreement requiring SJSU to address the violations.
“The University is in the process of reviewing the Department’s findings and proposed resolution agreement,” Michelle Smith McDonald, senior director of strategic communications at SJSU, told The Center Square in an email. “We remain committed to providing a safe, respectful and inclusive educational environment for all students while complying with applicable laws and regulations.”
