Universities drop out of volleyball tournament over alleged trans player

The women’s volleyball team at the University of Wyoming has recently stated that they will forfeit their upcoming match against San José State University’s women’s volleyball team due to San José allegedly having a trans player. As ‘LGBTQ Nation’ reports, they are the third team to make such a decision recently, and it appears that pressure from politicians and a lawsuit might have influenced their choice.

This decision contradicts the University of Wyoming’s earlier announcement indicating they intended to proceed with the match, following prior discussions with the staff of the San José team. However, the University of Wyoming has not disclosed what prompted the reversal of this decision.

“As a result of an extensive dialogue, the University of Wyoming will not take part in its scheduled conference match with San José State University in the UniWyo Sports Complex on Saturday, Oct. 5,” wrote Nick Seeman, the Assistant Athletic Director at the University of Wyoming, in a statement. “In accordance with Mountain West Conference policy, the match will be recorded as a forfeit and a loss for Wyoming.”

This is now the third instance of a team forfeiting a match against San José due to allegations of a transgender player being part of the team. This forfeit, alongside previous ones by Boise State University and Southern Utah University, is a reaction to a lawsuit initiated by anti-trans activist Riley Gaines. The lawsuit, later joined by San José team member Brooke Slusser, contends that her teammate and roommate, Blaire Fleming, is a trans woman.

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Pressure from Wyoming lawmakers was also present through a letter urging the state university to forfeit the game.

“The Legislature has made it clear that the University of Wyoming, a publicly funded land grant institution, should not engage in the extremist agenda of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) or promote the falsehood that biological sex can be altered,” the message circulated by Sen. Cheri Steinmetz (R) asserts. “We all know it cannot.”

Fleming has chosen not to make any public statements regarding her gender identity and continues to maintain her privacy. She reportedly has not shared further details about her identity with her team.

Gaines’ lawsuit claims that Fleming, by living as a trans woman with cisgender women, violated Slusser’s privacy and inflicted “physical and emotional injuries.” However, the lawsuit barely elaborates on the specific harms of a trans woman participating in women’s sports.

Furthermore, the lawsuit highlights that Fleming is among the team’s top performers, noting she holds the second-highest number of “kills” — an unreturned attack scoring a point against the opponent — and spikes the ball at "80 miles per hour.”

To spike the ball at such speed, Fleming would need to surpass the top performances of female Olympic athletes and even exceed many top male Olympic athletes.

Fleming has been part of the team for over two years. Should she be a trans woman, participating in women’s volleyball requires her to have testosterone levels comparable to those of a cis woman, verified through regular testing.

“Sports should promote teamwork, development, and fair competition — not discrimination and exclusion,” stated Wyoming Equality regarding the incident. “We believe every athlete, including transgender athletes, deserves the chance to compete in the sports they love. This issue is personal to me; as UW’s first transgender athlete, I experienced Wyoming at its best, focusing on sports rather than politics. Eliminating opportunities to compete harms all athletes.”

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