Nevada cancels volleyball match with San Jose State after clashing with own players over transgender controversy

The University of Nevada, Reno officially announced connected Friday that its women’s volleyball squad will forfeit its crippled against San Jose State connected Saturday.

Nevada is nan 5th squad to forfeit its lucifer against San Jose State amid an ongoing nationalist contention complete a transgender player, Blaire Fleming, connected nan squad and different subordinate engaged successful a suit complete ne'er being told that subordinate was a biologic male, according to nan lawsuit.

Nevada cited not having capable players to compete successful nan lucifer for forfeiting aft its players expressed a desire and volition not to compete against San Jose State.

“Due to not having capable players to compete, nan University of Nevada women’s volleyball squad will not play its scheduled Mountain West Conference lucifer astatine San José State connected Saturday, Oct. 26. Per Mountain West Conference policy, nan lucifer will beryllium recorded arsenic a convention nonaccomplishment for Nevada,” Nevada announced successful a connection early connected Friday morning.

San Jose State responded to nan forfeit successful a connection to Fox News Digital.

“Our athletes each comply pinch NCAA and Mountain West Conference policies and they are eligible to play nether nan rules of those organizations. We will proceed to return measures to prioritize nan wellness and information of our students while they prosecute their earned opportunities to compete,” nan connection read.

Nevada players, including squad skipper Sia Liillii, said retired against nan conception of competing against a transgender subordinate successful nan weeks starring up to nan cancelation aft voting to forfeit it connected Oct. 14. The players moreover went truthful acold arsenic to schedule a property convention alongside OutKick contributor and women’s jock activistic Riley Gaines to spell connected astatine nan aforesaid clip arsenic nan crippled connected Saturday.

“We were beautiful upset aft that connection came retired from our university,” Liilii told Yahoo Sports. “It conscionable deed america that we needed to talk astir what we wanted to do arsenic a group, make a determination and guidelines by it.”

However, Nevada would not officially forfeit nan crippled until Friday morning, citing authorities law.

“The immense mostly of our squad decided this is thing we wanted to return a guidelines on,” Liilii told nan website. “We didn’t want to play against a antheral player.

“In each of our squad meetings it conscionable kept coming backmost to nan truth that men do not beryllium successful women’s sports. If you’re calved a biologic male, you don’t beryllium successful women’s sports. It’s not moreover astir this individual athlete. It’s astir adjacent title and information for everyone.”

The Nevada authorities constitution was revised successful 2022 erstwhile Nevada voted to adopt nan Equal Rights Amendment, which added gender personality to nan database of protections. Nevada authorities Sen. Pat Spearman, a Democrat from North Las Vegas who co-sponsored nan measure to get it connected nan ballot, said nan rule has helped transgender group support their identity.

“The assemblage made nan determination not to state a forfeiture and move guardant pinch hosting nan lucifer arsenic scheduled based connected respective factors. As a nationalist university, nan assemblage is legally prohibited by Section 24 of nan Nevada Constitution and different laws and regulations to state a forfeit for reasons related to gender personality aliases expression,” a Nevada spokesperson antecedently told Fox News Digital.

On Tuesday, some Nevada and San Jose State announced that nan lucifer would beryllium moved from Nevada’s field successful Reno to San Jose State’s field successful nan Bay Area successful California, claiming nan location alteration was “in nan champion liking of some programs and nan well-being of nan student-athletes, coaches, diversion unit and spectators.”

San Jose State would person needed to beryllium astatine nan tract of nan match, however, successful bid to person a forfeit triumph if nary Nevada players extremity up playing. By moving nan tract of nan lucifer to nan San Jose State campus, past nan Spartan players would not person to make nan travel to Nevada successful bid to unafraid nan forfeit victory. So, by making this change, San Jose State will get to declare a forfeited triumph if nary Nevada players take to play, without leaving their location state.

Now that nan lucifer has been officially forfeited, nary 1 will person to do immoderate traveling.

Nevada joins Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State, which each person officially forfeited their scheduled games against San Jose State.

San Jose State subordinate Brooke Slusser joined a suit headed by OutKick big and erstwhile collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines against nan NCAA owed to its policies connected gender identity. Slusser joined this suit because she claims that she has had to stock a court, a locker room and moreover a room connected overnight trips pinch her teammate Fleming without having ever been told that Fleming was a biologic male.

Security concerns and threats against San Jose State players person made walking for matches a high-risk endeavor for nan woman Spartans. San Jose State antecedently confirmed to Fox News Digital that constabulary protection had been assigned to nan team, soon aft getting nan first news of an force forfeiting, erstwhile Southern Utah announced that it would not play its lucifer against nan Spartans successful September.

“One of my teammates sewage a DM, fundamentally saying that she, and past my team, needed to support my region from maine connected gameday against Colorado State, because it wasn’t going to beryllium a bully business for maine to beryllium successful and that my squad needed to support their distance,” Slusser told Fox News Digital successful an exclusive interview. “They needed to support their region from maine during nan game, because thing was going to hap to me.

“This was nan first beingness threat erstwhile we could easy spot that they wanted to physically harm 1 of us.”

In June, a study conducted by NORC astatine nan University of Chicago asked respondents to measurement successful connected whether transgender athletes of some sexes should beryllium permitted to participate successful sports leagues that correspond to their preferred gender personality alternatively of their biologic sex.

Sixty-five percent answered that it should either beryllium ne'er aliases seldom allowed. When those polled were asked specifically astir big transgender female athletes competing connected women’s sports teams, 69% opposed it.

The United Nations released study findings that opportunity astir 900 biologic females person fallen short of nan podium because they were beaten retired by transgender athletes.

The study, titled “Violence against women and girls successful sports,” said that much than 600 athletes did not badge successful much than 400 competitions successful 29 different sports, totaling complete 890 medals, according to accusation obtained up to March 30.

“The replacement of nan female sports class pinch a mixed-sex class has resulted successful an expanding number of female athletes losing opportunities, including medals, erstwhile competing against males,” nan study said.

Former President Donald Trump has gone truthful acold arsenic to advocator for a ban, successful a caller municipality hallway arena connected Fox News.

“We’re not going to fto it happen,” Trump said of nan issue. “We extremity it, we extremity it, we perfectly extremity it. We can’t person it.

“You conscionable prohibition it. The president bans it. You don’t fto it happen. It’s not a large deal.”