San Jose State’s women’s volleyball team will have a match scratched from its schedule for the seventh time this season amid controversy over a transgender athlete.
San Jose State’s women’s volleyball team will have a match scratched from its schedule for the seventh time this season amid an ongoing national controversy over a transgender athlete on the team.
The University of Wyoming announced it is forfeiting its second match of the season against San Jose State Friday. Wyoming forfeited its first match against the Spartans at the start of October. It is also the first forfeit against San Jose State since Trump’s presidential election victory.
San Jose State responded to the forfeit in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Our athletes all comply with NCAA and Mountain West Conference policies and are eligible to play under the rules of those organizations. Our volleyball team members have earned the right to compete, and we are deeply disappointed for them and with them that they are being denied those opportunities through cancellations and forfeits. We are also proud of how they have persevered through these challenges on the court,” the statement said.
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The other programs forfeiting matches against San Jose State were Southern Utah, Utah State, Nevada and Boise State, which has also forfeited two matches against the Spartans.
Idaho, where Boise State is located, has a state executive order in effect by Gov. Brad Little to restrict transgender inclusion in girls and women’s sports. Prior to the second Boise State cancellation, Little told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview he was “certain” the match would be canceled and suggested judges and prosecutors would get involved if it wasn’t. San Jose State claims Bosie State has since informed it that the rematch will be forfeited.
San Jose State’s volleyball team is at the center of national controversy and locker room tension. Spartans captain Brooke Slusser sued the NCAA over the presence of a transgender teammate, Blaire Fleming, sharing personal spaces with Slusser and the other players. Slusser alleges she was never informed Fleming is a biological male, according to court documents.
The team also suspended assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose after she filed a Title IX complaint alleging favoritism by the university toward Fleming over Slusser.
Slusser told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview the univeristy’s handling of the situation has left her feeling “unsafe” and in an unprotected position after multiple threats against her life.
“I think anyone can see that’s in my circle and in the gym that they’re not here to support me. They’re here to support Blaire. And they have decided that they will basically do anything to keep supporting Blaire and to not be there for me and my needs,” Slusser said. “I just have decided you can’t really trust anyone here.”
Slusser says Batie-Smoose was the only coach in the program to support her in her decision to join the lawsuit and advocate for the protection of women’s athletics.
“After we found out that she was released, a lot of the team just kind of broke down and was kind of freaking out. And even one of my teammates was like, ‘I don’t feel safe anymore’ because there’s no one now that we feel like we can go and talk to about our concerns or our actual feelings and can actually speak freely in front of,” Slusser said.
Slusser says she does not feel safe speaking with anyone else involved in the program, not even head coach Todd Kress.
“You can’t truly voice how you’re feeling without them just trying to cover it up or act like it’s all OK. With Melissa, you could voice how you felt, and she could comfort you and validate your feelings and at least make you feel heard compared to the other coaches,” Slusser said.
Slusser says she has not spoken with Fleming since joining the lawsuit. When reflecting on interactions with Fleming prior to knowing the player’s birth gender, Slusser admits she regrets “opening up” with the transgender player in ways she wouldn’t have had she known Fleming was a biological male.
Police protection has been assigned to the team throughout the controversy, and the university has even had to coordinate additional police protection with other universities for the team’s away games.
Fox News Digital provided a series of questions to San Jose State about the measures it is taking to track down the suspects of those who have made threats against Slusser, including whether digital forensics by the university police department is being used or whether the situation has been elevated to state or federal investigators.
“The university has asked students and staff to share all concerning communications with UPD to be evaluated and addressed appropriately, including in conjunction with proper authorities where appropriate,” San Jose State told Fox News Digital.
On top of the security concerns and locker room tensions, the team is now also in limbo with respect to the postseason. The upcoming Mountain West Tournament could feature multiple matches between San Jose State and programs like Wyoming, who have already forfeited.
After Donald Trump’s presidential victory, a federal crackdown on transgender athletes in women’s sports could be coming. Trump has advocated for a ban of all transgender athletes in women’s sports and said he would carry out that ban as president. Slusser and Little both told Fox News Digital they would support that ban.
Liberal politicians and Democrat-supported legislation has created easy pathways for transgender athletes in women’s and girls sports in recent years and has even made it more difficult for parents to intervene in preventing their daughters from competing against biological males.
The Biden-Harris administration’s sweeping rewrite of Title IX in April proposed bills like the Equality Act and a Transgender Bill of Rights that have been proposed and co-sponsored by Democrats, which would help enable transgender inclusion in women’s sports at a national level.
An amendment to the Nevada state constitution that aimed to protect gender identity from transgender discrimination was cited by the university in its decision not to forfeit a game against San Jose State in October.
Despite players asking the athletic department to forfeit the match, the university refused to comply with state law. Nevada’s program forfeited the day before the match was to be played due to not having enough players to participate. This came after reported disputes between players and administrators and a venue change of the program from Nevada to California.
However, Democrats have started to distance themselves from their stance on transgender inclusion throughout the election cycle. Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton and New York Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi criticized their party’s stance on transgender inclusion in women’s sports.
Now, with Trump set to take office in January, a more sweeping action to prevent transgender inclusion in women’s sports could be coming with limited opposition from the left.
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