Santa Rosa women’s volleyball players file Title IX complaint over transgender athlete

Three Santa Rosa Junior College women’s volleyball players filed a federal Title IX complaint to remove a transgender athlete from women’s competition, arguing the college and California’s community college sports association are violating federal law and creating safety risks.

Students Madison Shaw, Gracie Shaw and Brielle Galli submitted the complaint on Sept. 3 to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Outkick reports. The filing challenges the California Community College Athletic Association’s transgender participation policy, which allows male athletes to compete on women’s teams after one year of testosterone suppression with no specific testosterone limit, no independent testing and no disclosure requirement. 

The complaint focuses on male trans-identifying player Ximena Gomez, who the women say has created safety and fairness concerns. The filing alleges Gomez concussed a teammate during a 2024 practice. Additionally, on Aug. 28, 2025, he spiked a ball into Gracie’s face during practice. The players say they also objected to Gomez’s access to the women’s locker room.

The women allege retaliation followed their opposition.

Head coach Ally Sather benched the women, cut their playing time and canceled a requested team meeting after they refused to play alongside Gomez in a preseason scrimmage, the complaint alleges.

Madison later stepped away from the team while Gomez remained. Gracie and Brielle risk being kicked off the team if they continue to sit out.

Santa Rosa spokesperson Sarah Pew said the college follows statewide eligibility rules.

“Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) is committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all students and employees. The District complies with California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) regulations, which govern student eligibility and participation in our athletic programs,” Pew said. “We respect the legal privacy rights of all students and cannot discuss individual circumstances. What we can affirm is that SRJC takes all reports seriously and responds through established procedures.”

William Bock, attorney for the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, criticized the college’s response.

“It is inexcusable that Santa Rosa Junior College will not provide an honest, substantive, or coherent response that owns up to the many months in which SRJC has callously prioritized the selfish demand of a man to play on SRJC’s women’s varsity volleyball team, instead of protecting the safety, equal opportunities, and locker room privacy of its young women and volleyball players,” Bock said.

He added, “SRJC and the California Community College Athletic Association made a conscious choice to discriminate against women and ignore federal law, and they must be held accountable.”

The complaint asks OCR to investigate the college and sports association, rule the policy violates Title IX, suspend federal funding for noncompliant colleges, impose penalties and ensure only biological females compete on women’s teams.

The filing also cites an early 2025 executive order from President Trump, reinforcing Title IX by barring men from women’s athletics, which conflicts with California’s gender identity policies.