Volleyball player sues California university that revoked her scholarship for being trans

A transgender volleyball player has sued a California university that stripped her of a scholarship.

Emma Morquecho filed a federal lawsuit against Westcliff University, the California Pacific Conference, and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics after the private school revoked her athletic scholarship based entirely on gender identity.

"By taking a stand, I’m not just fighting for myself. I’m speaking for every trans person who has been silenced, and I hope my voice empowers others in our community to know their stories and their rights matter,” Morquecho said. “Together, we can create a future where everyone is treated with dignity and respect."

Related: What does the science say about transgender women in sports?

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) announced it will back the lawsuit. The organization stressed that ethnic minorities often feel the first effect of discriminatory policies, even when they aren’t immediately based on race.

"The Latino community is often first to be targeted under practices of irrational discrimination, and this case falls within that pattern," said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel for MALDEF. "Discrimination, based on stereotype and false assumption, against trans athletes must end, especially in California, where so many of those harmed will be members of the state’s largest racial/ethnic community."

Morquecho, 33, played competitive volleyball in Arizona after immigrating to the U.S. in her 20s, including with the North American Gay Volleyball Association. A coach in her church encouraged her to apply for scholarships to pay for college. She submitted an interest form in 2022 to Westcliff, and disclosed at the time that she was transgender.

Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.

Shortly after, Coach Andrew Cole expressed interest in recruiting Morquecho to his squad, and in July 2023, she was offered almost $7,700 in the form of an athletic scholarship, an amount that did not fully cover academic year costs at the school, which exceeded $10,300.

Morquecho quit her job and moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Irvine, California, to attend the school, absorbing several fees out of pocket that the scholarship did not cover. She began a master's program in teaching English as a second language, and started her studies in 2023.

But in July that same year, Morquecho was informed that the Cal Pac Conference had to make a decision whether she could play on the university’s team, and in August, she was deemed ineligible and her scholarship was canceled.

Morquecho's lawsuit noted the NAIA at that point had no policy barring participation by transgender athletes. The association adopted such a policy in April 2024 that only applied to transgender women playing in female sports.

“By not letting Emma Morquecho earn a scholarship playing volleyball, Westcliff University, Cal Pac, and the NAIA have bowed to a national movement to ban transgender people from every facet of public life," said Ernest Herrera, MALDEF Western Regional Counsel. "With this lawsuit, MALDEF seeks to restore an educational opportunity to a proud Latina student-athlete."

The lawsuit said the activity violates her federal civil rights and California state law by discriminating based on her gender identity.