The Nevada women’s volleyball team will forfeit its future match against San Jose State, set for Oct. 26 at home.
This comes just 11 days after Nevada Athletics committed to playing the match. The department released a statement after four schools, three of which being Mountain West programs Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State, also forfeited amid the news that the Spartans have a transgender player on the team.
“The University of Nevada volleyball team remains focused on its upcoming matches with UNLV and San Diego State and intends to play its remaining Mountain West schedule, including the match with San José State University on October 26,” Nevada Athletics said. “The University will continue to abide by the NCAA, Mountain West Conference, and USA Volleyball rules and regulations as well as the laws and Constitution of the State of Nevada.”
However, a report from OutKick.com, a sports website dedicated to “Questioning the consensus and exposing the destructive nature of “woke” activism” per its about us section, stated that the decision to forfeit was made by the players, not the department. Nevada Athletics declined to comment.
The players released the following statement through the website.
“We, the University of Nevada Reno women’s volleyball team, forfeit against San Jose State University and stand united in solidarity with the volleyball teams of Southern Utah University, Boise State University, the University of Wyoming and Utah State University,” the team wrote in an exclusive statement to OutKick. “We demand that our right to safety and fair competition on the court be upheld. We refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes.”
Sia Liilii, Nevada senior and co-captain, told OutKick the team was extremely frustrated that the athletics department committed to the match without talking with the team first.
“The school released that statement without consulting our team at all,” Liilii told OutKick. “We were pretty upset that we were not made aware that a statement was going to come out. We were actually in Las Vegas preparing for our match against UNLV, our in-state rival. It was a really frustrating time, especially because we were about to go and play a big game.”
Liilii said the team voted not to play. She also told OutKick “We decided that we’re going to stand in solidarity with other teams that have already forfeited and that we wouldn’t participate in a game that advances sex-based discrimination or injustice against female athletes.”
With the forfeit, Nevada will take a loss. The team is currently 10-8, coming off a 3-1 win over New Mexico on Oct. 12.
San Jose State is currently 9-3, with a 4-3 conference record. Those four conference wins are via forfeit. Blaire Fleming, San Jose State outside hitter, is the alleged transgender athlete and has been with the program since 2022.
The NCAA changed its rules regarding transgender athletes in 2022, stating that a transgender woman athlete must complete a full calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment before playing for a women’s team.
The updated NCAA rule states “A trans female (MTF) student-athlete being treated with testosterone suppression medication for gender dysphoria for the purposes of NCAA competition may continue to compete on a men’s team but may not compete on a women’s team without changing it to a mixed team status until completing one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment.”
Dominic Gutierrez can be reached via email dominicgutierrez@unr.edu or via X @d_m_g_16
I am from Nebraska and support the actions of the schools volleyball team to forfeit their match w San Diego st univ. Great courage and the right decision.
This is just gross. These players have now chosen to advance discrimination and injustice against female athletes. The team should be ashamed of itself.
Female implies the athlete is biologically a female of the species. I think the term you are looking for is woman. In this case, her gender is woman and her biological sex is female. The woman in question has developed as a male with shoulder and arm strength much more advanced then her female competition.
No, they should be PROUD of themselves for standing up for the rights of WOMEN athletes! The discrimination is allowing men’s feelings to be more important than the safety and fairness to women!
transgender is an identity not a true gender of which there are only 2. men, no matter their identity have a strength advantage and can seriously injure a women ie: Payton McNabb NC volleyball player seriously injured by transgender man.
whoa dan, you’re way off base. you used the words “female athletes”. this about a transgender male. transgender is an identity not a gender. there are only 2 genders. , a biological man playing against women is not only unfair but dangerous. for example, Payton McNabb, N.C, high school volleyball player, hospitalized with serious concussion. she lost college scholarship because of this. also another lost her front teeth.
Dan, it’s well past time to admit that Trans athletes are just that – Trans athletes. They are not women/female. They should compete in their own division. Women have fought for fair and equal treatment for decades and this business of calling Trans athletes women is ludicrous. Do you believe in science? If so, you should agree that there are men and women. The vast majority (99.9%) of humans either have XX (women/female) or XY (men/male) chromosomes. So, “believe the science” and create a division for XY’s who want to take female hormones and don’t want to play against XY’s who have male hormones. I’m enormously proud of the women of the Wolf Pack and the other universities who are standing up for their rights as athletes. I’m a SJSU alumnus and I’m disgusted with my alma mater for infringing on the rights of actual women athletes.
I can’t wait for the conservative supreme Court to finally weigh in on this issue. Trans women are men and have no right to be playing on a woman’s team.
I support these ladies !00%! Stick to your guns! Dan is the misguided idiot promoting the discrimination against women. Shame on you! If want to go from a guy to looking like a woman, and that’s all it is. You are still a guy no matter what you say. That’s fine, but competing against women because you could not make it against the guys is an act of cowardice! Love you ladies for standing up to your rights!
Young ladies, stand proud in your decision. I don’t care what doctors give these confused people, they will always be the sex they were born (male or female). Boys/men should never be permitted to play in women/girls sports. Continue to protect yourself and make decisions that protect women sports. The school has an agenda and that is why they are not supporting your decision.
Excellent choice. Many women fought hard to secure equality through Title 9. It shouldn’t be diminished by biological males who can’t compete but seek “ego fulfillment” through women’s athletics.