Four Women’s Volleyball Teams Forfeit – Won’t Play Team with a Man
Four collegiate women’s volleyball teams have chosen to forfeit their matches, rather than play a team with a man who claims he is a woman.
Utah State, Southern Utah, Boise State and the University of Wyoming have chosen to protect their players and take a stand for fairness rather than play San Jose State, which has a transgender-identified “woman” on its roster.
All the schools are in the NCAA Division I Mountain West Conference, except for Southern Utah, which is part of the Big Sky Conference.
Their courageous stand is part of a growing backlash against boys and men competing in girls and women’s sports.
Riley Gaines directs The Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute and is an Ambassador for Independent Women’s Forum. A collegiate All-American swimmer, she’s an outspoken advocate for women’s-only sports teams. She’s part of a lawsuit, organized by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS), against the NCAA for allowing men in women’s sports.
Gaines applauded the unified stance of the four women’s teams:
This kind of unity is what I (and many others who have worked far longer than me) have been pushing for over the past two years.
The gender ideology house of cards is crumbling, and it’s a glorious sight. pic.twitter.com/9STWNjLq68
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) October 3, 2024
Rather than protect its players, Colorado State decided to play San Jose on October 3, winning in three straight sets, despite the presence of Blaire Fleming, the 6-foot-1 transgender-identified athlete.
Police were present at the match because Fleming’s teammate, Brooke Slusser, was threatened after she spoke out against his presence on the team.
San Jose’s starting setter and co-captain, Slusser has joined the lawsuit against the NCAA, citing “fairness and safety.” The Cowboy State Daily reported about the complaint:
“Brooke estimates that Fleming’s spikes were traveling upward of 80 mph, which was faster than she had ever seen a woman hit a volleyball,” the complaint said. “The girls were doing everything they could to dodge Fleming’s spikes but still could not fully protect themselves.”
Slusser was also forced to share rooms with Fleming – without being told her teammate was male. Reduxx, a feminist news and opinion site, reported she received a death threat for opposing Fleming’s presence on her team:
On October 2, a suspected threat against Slusser’s life was received by one of her teammates via Instagram. After being made aware of the threat, Slusser contacted police in Fort Collins.
The outlet reported:
Speaking to Reduxx, Slusser says there will be police escorting the athletes to and from their vehicles, locker rooms, and the gym. There will also be metal detectors installed at the entrance points, and armed officers will be present at the game in order to ensure the safety of everyone in attendance.
Slusser told the feminist news outlet:
After being shown the threat, it was a very uneasy feeling. Just because everything else that I’ve gotten so far – if it’s not in support of me – is just… hate mail, basically. Just people behind their screens saying hateful things that don’t mean anything to me.
But reading that, it sent chills through me at first, just because that’s someone threatening to physically harm me.
The Daily Citizen has reported on dozens of female athletes who have lost medals and positions on teams due to male athletes insisting on playing on girls and women’s teams.
The website SheWon.org reports that there have been 717 instances of female athletes who lost 1,055 medals in 37 different sports to male athletes.
We are thankful for these brave women opposing men in their sports.
Related articles and resources:
#SaveGirlsSports – New Campaign Launched by Family Policy Alliance
Middle School Girls Who Protested ‘Trans’ Athlete Are Banned From Future Competition
Riley Gaines and 15 Other Female Athletes Sue NCAA Over ‘Transgender Policy’
Third Court Halts DOE’s Title IX Rewrite, Girls’ Sports & Spaces Preserved
Shoving Girls Off the Podium: More Male Athletes Participating in Girls Sports
Image credit: San Jose State Volleyball Facebook Page
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeff Johnston is a culture and policy analyst for Focus on the Family and a staff writer for the Daily Citizen. He researches, writes and teaches about topics of concern to families such as parental rights, religious freedom, LGBT issues, education and free speech. Johnston has been interviewed by CBS Sunday Morning, The New York Times, Associated Press News, The Christian Post, Rolling Stone and Vice, and is a frequent guest on radio and television outlets. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from San Diego State University with a Bachelors in English and a Teaching Credential. He and his wife have been married 30 years and have three grown sons.
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