The Trump administration opened an investigation Thursday into the California Community College Athletic Association, responding to a complaint filed by female players about a transgender athlete playing women’s volleyball at a member college.
Leading the probe is the Title IX Special Investigations Team, a joint effort of the Department of Education and Department of Justice, which is examining whether the association violated federal law by “allowing a male athlete to participate on the women’s volleyball team.”
The statement by the Department of Education did not mention the college’s name, but the association known as the 3C2A was rocked by a transgender athlete uproar at Santa Rosa Junior College during the 2025-26 fall volleyball season.
The outcry centered on the participation of Ximena Gomez, a redshirt freshman who competed on the team despite being flagged by players as male, leading three teammates to bring a federal Title IX complaint.
The team’s matches drew protests and counter-protests after the complaint was filed Sept. 3. Gomez has not publicly acknowledged being transgender, and the college has said it cannot discuss the student’s “individual circumstances.”
The 3C2A, the athletic governing body for Santa Rosa and 115 other junior colleges, allows male-born students to join women’s teams based on their gender identity under its transgender-participation policy.
Education Assistant Secretary Kimberly Richey said that the “fact that a Community College Athletic Association has a ‘Transgender Participation Policy’ is a stunning indictment of our culture.
“Women’s sports are for women. Yet California’s Governor Gavin Newsom — despite admitting the truth on a podcast — continues to put ideology above the safety of and fairness for his own students,” said Ms. Richey in a statement. “The Trump Administration will not tolerate policies that erase women’s rights.”
The department’s Office for Civil Rights announced investigations Wednesday into 18 educational entities, including school districts and junior colleges, in 10 Democrat-led states that permit students to compete based on gender identity.
An investigation by the task force represents a heightened level of scrutiny and enforcement, given the involvement of the Justice Department.
“The Title IX SIT looks forward to investigating this matter to ensure every woman has equal access to educational programs and athletic opportunities—because fairness and safety are non-negotiable,” Ms. Richey said.
A Santa Rosa spokesperson said in a September statement that the university “complies with California Community College Athletic Association regulations, which govern student eligibility and participation in our athletic programs.”
California law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, although Mr. Newsom stunned Democrats last year by saying it was “deeply unfair” to allow transgender athletes in girls’ sports.
The three female athletes who filed the complaint – players Brielle Galli, Gracie Shaw and Madison Shaw – raised fairness as well as safety issues, saying that a female player suffered a concussion after being hit in the head by a ball spiked by Gomez during practice.
Gracie Shaw said she herself was hit in the face by a volleyball spiked by Gomez at practice that was “way harder hit” than balls hit by female athletes.
Even so, Madison Shaw said that most of the team supported letting Gomez play.
“A majority of our team unfortunately doesn’t see it the way that we see it. They support the male athlete being on our team, and we’re kind of the minority on our team really in this situation,” she told Fox News Channel. “They don’t see an issue, and if they do, they’re too scared of what others might think of them if they come out and say what they believe.”
The complaint alleged that “3C2A ignored female students’ complaints about the harms caused to females when male students participate in female sports,” the department said in its Thursday statement.
“As an entity that sets policy for educational institutions that receive Federal financial assistance in California, 3C2A has an obligation to uphold Title IX’s sex-based protections,” the statement said.
