Mountain West Conference Teams Cancel Volleyball Matches Against San Jose State University, Refuse To Play Against Transgender Player

Taking a stand - by sitting out. Two Mountain West Conference volleyball teams have recently decided to cancel their matches against San Jose State, which has found itself at the center of controversy after it was revealed that one of their players is transgender. According to an interview Outkick, San Jose State volleyball player Brooke Slusser said the school initially hid the fact that redshirt senior Blaire Fleming was born a male. And after it was revealed, Slusser said the school was only focused on protecting Fleming: "It was more so the school only supporting Blaire, and they didn't really seem to want to check in on us." Slusser has since joined a lawsuit against the NCAA for Title IX violations, and is fighting against allowing biological males to compete in women's sports. Fleming, who transferred to San Jose State from Coastal Carolina in the same year that South Carolina introduced a bill banning males from women's sports, competed on the women's volleyball team at John Champe High School in Virginia, as well as the Virginia Juniors girls' club team. But once other schools found out that Fleming is transgender, they began refusing to compete against San Jose State. It all started when Southern Utah backed out of a scheduled non-conference match last month, though no reason was given for the team backing out. Then last week, Boise State refused to play San Jose State and forfeited the scheduled match against their conference opponent. In a statement announcing the cancellation, the school didn't give a reason for backing out of the match: "Boise State volleyball will not play its scheduled match at San José State on Saturday, Sept. 28. Per Mountain West Conference policy, the Conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Boise State. The Broncos will next compete on Oct. 3 against Air Force." But the governor of Idaho, Brad Little, expressed his support for the team and their decision, writing that "we need to ensure player safety for all of our female athletes." https://twitter.com/GovernorLittle/status/1839779336259608817 And now, another conference team is refusing to play San Jose State. Wyoming volleyball announced today that they too would be forfeiting their upcoming game against the Spartans: https://twitter.com/RealDanZak/status/1841229572886364624 Like the other schools, no reason was given for the cancellation, but Wyoming governor Mark Gordon also expressed support for the team and stressed the need to protect women's sports: https://twitter.com/GovernorGordon/status/1841234858468917535 Of course this isn't a new debate, with the issue of biological men competing in women's sports becoming one of the most hot-button issues over the past few years. Some high profile figures in sports, including Kirk Herbstreit and Pat McAfee, have lent their support for female athletes working to protect women's sports, and former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines has been leading the charge in both court and the media. But now, it seems the athletes and programs themselves are ready to take a stand on the issue - even if it means sitting out.