The Santa Rosa Junior College women’s volleyball team is under scrutiny after three athletes filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) on Sept. 3, alleging Title IX violations by the college and the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A).
SRJC freshmen Gracie Shaw and Brielle Galli, along with sophomore Madison Shaw, filed the complaint raising concern for their safety while practicing with a transgender teammate, and claiming the college and 3C2A are in violation of Title IX for allowing a transgender athlete to actively participate on the team.
They describe in their complaint “ongoing Title IX violations that threatened physical safety and equal athletic opportunities for thousands of women junior college athletes at 112 junior colleges in the State of California governed by the California Community College Athletic Association (“3C2A”).”
Madison and Gracie Shaw recently spoke with Fox News to share their perspective.
“A majority of our team doesn’t see it the way we see it,” Shaw said. “They support the male athlete being on the team and we’re kind of the minorities on our team in this situation.”
The complaint further alleges that head volleyball coach Ally Sather retaliated against the three athletes by benching them after they brought their concerns about their transgender teammate’s participation violating their rights.
This allegedly occurred as the volleyball team was set to compete in the Solano Scrimmage Tournament on Aug. 15 to begin their season.
According to the complaint, the trio spoke with Sather about their concerns.“Head Coach Sather told the Complainants that they were some of her best volleyball players and would be starting at their respective positions. She told them that she needed Complainants to play on the team this year,” the complaint states. “However, Head Coach Sather told the Complainants that she could not hold their starting positions if they did not participate [in the opening tournament]…and that if they were not going to participate in that tournament they needed to inform their teammates.”
With this information, all three complainants ultimately decided not to play in the opening scrimmage.
Less than two weeks later, Galli informed coach Sather of her plan to participate in the season despite their transgender teammate’s participation, but she would be doing so “under protest.”
The Shaws later informed coach Sather that they would continue not to participate in games while the college allowed a transgender athlete to compete on the volleyball team. On Sept. 2, Madison Shaw met with coach Sather and informed her of her decision to leave the volleyball team as long as the teammate in question remained on the team.
SRJC Athletic Director Matt Markovich declined to comment, stating all inquiries be sent to Sarah Pew, senior director of marketing, communications and public affairs.
In an email to the Oak Leaf staff, Pew said, “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. 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.”
Congress passed Title IX in 1972, barring discrimination against a person’s right to participate on the basis of sex at institutions receiving federal funding.
On Feb. 5, President Donald Trump signed executive order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” aiming to keep a person assigned male at birth from competing on women’s sports teams.
The executive order mandated that the Secretary of Education enforce Title IX against educational institutions that allow transgender athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports. Trump’s Administration has also advocated for certain state funding to be frozen as a result of violating Title IX.
Attorney William Bock III, filing attorney for the complaint on behalf of the Shaws and Galli, also filed for a similar complaint on behalf of San Jose State University volleyball player Brooke Slusser in 2024. An investigation by the DOE began in February 2024 after Slusser filed to have her teammate, Blaire Fleming, banned from participating in the NCAA volleyball team, citing uncorroborated claims of player safety.
The results of that investigation have not been published.
The women’s volleyball team is set to play Hartnell at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10 at home. A starting roster has not been released ahead of Wednesday’s game.
As of Tuesday, Sept. 9, all three complainants remain on the roster posted on the SRJC Athletics website.
KS • Sep 10, 2025 at 9:19 pm
I support the transgender athlete.