A meeting of California State University’s Board of Trustees at which trans women in sports was under discussion descended into a war of words Tuesday, with the participants trading insults.
CSU and San Jose State University announced Friday that they are suing the federal government after President Donald Trump’s Department of Education accused SJSU of violating Title IX, prohibiting sex-based discrimination, by allowing a transgender volleyball player to compete in women’s games between 2022 and 2024.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon responded by issuing a letter to the schools giving them 10 days to back down or face federal funding cuts and a referral to the Department of Justice.
Discussing the situation, Jamie O’Quinn, an assistant professor of sociology at Cal State San Bernardino, stood up to rebuke the board by saying: “The fact that I have to get up here and have to say that trans women are women and that’s what I have to use my time to do is absurd. Shame on you. Shame on all of you.”
Turning her fire on lesbian activists who had argued in favor of keeping trans women out of women’s sports, she declared: “Shame on you for using lesbian politics as a front for your transphobia because this lesbian has had plenty of girlfriends with penises.”
The chair’s instructions to other speakers to address their comments to the board were largely ignored.
Beth Bourne, a prominent “save women’s sports” activist, instead directed her remarks towards “anyone who is listening who is transgender or nonbinary.”
“You’ve been lied to,” she said. “They’re making money off of your body. If you’re taking cross-sex hormones, you’re harming yourself. You’re permanently harming yourself. And just remember, your mother and your father love you more than anyone in the world.”
One SJSU alumnus attacked the institution for defying McMahon’s DOE, saying: “I’m so disappointed that Cal State is no longer welcome to women. I’m here to support Title IX and state a basic truth: Males cannot become females. Everyone understands this in sports.”
A current SJSU student took the opposing point of view, commenting: “Our community has been angry, scared, and tired. Today, I’m here to share my gratitude and support for the Board of Trustees’ decision.
“As a transgender student who is in his third year at SJSU, I’m asking you, please listen to us, and please keep protecting transgender students.”
Alison Foote – treasurer to the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, who was wearing an XX-XY shirt – rebuked the board over the decision to sue, calling it, “an embarrassment to the entire CSU system.”
She continued: “This is CSU-sanctioned sexual abuse of the women you are obligated to protect.
“Your internally inconsistent Title IX and [Department of Human Resources] guidelines that prioritize gender identity over sex has created the hostile environment unfolding before you now, but most importantly for the 260,000 women enrolled on your campuses.”
SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson told Fox News Digital that the move to sue the Trump administration “is not a step we take lightly.”
She continued: “We have a responsibility to defend the integrity of our institution and the rule of law, while ensuring that every member of our community is treated fairly and in accordance with the law.
“Our position is simple: We have followed the law and cannot be punished for doing so.”
Teniente-Matson also said the university was committed to defending its LGBT+ community.
“Our support for the LGBTQ members of our community, who have experienced threats and harms over the last several years, remains unwavering,” she said.
“We know the attention the university has received around this issue and the investigative process that followed have been unsettling for many in our community.
“We’ve heard the fear and anxiety that it has created and recognize that waiting for the university’s response has been difficult at a time already filled with uncertainty.”
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