August 16 2025, 08:15 
A trans student-athlete is suing a private California university and two college athletic associations after her volleyball scholarship was revoked, claiming that both her race and gender identity were turned against her.
According to the suit reported on by LGBTQ Nation sibling site OutSports, Emma Morquecho, 33, emigrated from Mexico in her 20s and played competitive volleyball in Arizona, including with the North American Gay Volleyball Association. She was encouraged by a coach in her church to apply for sports scholarships to pay for college.
Related
Morquecho sent a letter of interest in 2022 to Westcliff University, a private, for-profit university in Irvine, California. Her correspondence with the school’s women’s volleyball coach indicated that she’s transgender.
In July 2023, Westcliff offered Morquecho a women’s volleyball scholarship for the coming 2023-2024 school year. She planned to join a master’s program with the College of Education beginning in the fall semester.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
That summer, Morquecho quit her job in Phoenix and moved to California. Soon after she arrived, however, Morquecho confronted obstacles to play.
After being admitted as a student in July, Morquecho received a letter from the university stating that her eligibility to join the volleyball team was awaiting a decision by CAL PAC, the regional college sports association. Until then, she had to sit out of play.
Weeks later, the head coach of Westcliff women’s volleyball team, the same one who recruited Morquecho from Arizona, informed her via email that she wasn’t eligible to join the team and that Westcliff had revoked her scholarship.
Morquecho’s suit argues that Westcliff, CAL PAC, and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) jointly decided to deny Morquecho’s eligibility and scholarship because she is a transgender woman, despite recruiting her to the school.
At the time Morquecho’s scholarship was revoked, NAIA had no policy barring trans student-athlete participation in college sports. In 2024, however, the association formally banned trans women from playing women’s sports.
Her attorneys believe Morquecho’s race had a role in the decision, as well.
“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 of MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund that’s representing Morquecho in her suit.
“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.”
The lawsuit claims that the organizations’ actions violate Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments of the federal civil rights law, which prohibits sex discrimination by educational institutions that receive federal funding. Westcliff, CAL PAC, and the NAIA all receive federal dollars.
As well, the lawsuit claims violations under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation, and other protected classes.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, asks the court for a permanent injunction of the NAIA policy denying trans athletes’ eligibility and Westcliff’s and CAL PAC’s enforcement of it. The suit also calls for the restoration of Morquecho’s athletic eligibility and scholarship.
“By taking a stand, I’m not just fighting for myself. I’m speaking for every trans person who has been silenced,” Morquecho said in an announcement of the suit.
“I hope my voice empowers others in our community to know their stories and their rights matter.”
Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.