University and team were in conflict over playing against San Jose State and its male player
The University of Nevada Reno will officially forfeit its women’s volleyball match tomorrow against San Jose State University.
“Due to not having enough players to compete, the University of Nevada women’s volleyball team will not play its scheduled Mountain West Conference match,” the school announced on its website.
“Per Mountain West Conference policy, the match will be recorded as a conference loss for Nevada,” the athletics department wrote.
A women’s rights group praised the news.
“The female athletes held their ground in a standoff with the university and DIDN’T BACK DOWN,” the Independent Council on Women’s Sports wrote on X.
UNR has now officially announced they will forfeit Saturdays volleyball match against team with male starter, citing “not having enough players to compete.”
The female athletes held their ground in a standoff with the university and DIDN’T BACK DOWN. https://t.co/OIx9OtNuvA pic.twitter.com/s3JwfqVVCX
— ICONS (@icons_women) October 25, 2024
The announcement comes after the University of Nevada team refused to play against San Jose State’s team, which is led by a male athlete named Blaire Fleming who identifies as a woman.
The university and players had butted heads, as the school announced it would not forfeit at first. The team then took a vote to forfeit and won the support of the state’s Republican governor, Joe Lombardo.
“As I’ve said previously, I believe there are competition and safety concerns with this issue, and it’s irresponsible for the NCAA to put student athletes in a position of balancing their personal safety against the schools, competition, and sports that they love,” Lombardo wrote on X.
The team becomes the fifth to officially forfeit against San Jose State, as schools refuse to compete against a male athlete with a physical advantage.
The controversy has grown as video of Fleming hard spiking a ball circulated online in recent days.
Gloria Nevarez, the Mountain West Conference commissioner, said she is still learning the “science” about male athletes competing against women.
“I don’t know a lot of the language yet or the science or the understanding nationally of how this issue plays out,” Nevarez told the AP last week. “The external influences are so far on either side. We have an election year. It’s political, so, yeah, it feels like a no-win based on all the external pressure.”
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IMAGE: Nevada Wolf Pack/Facebook
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