San Jose State’s women’s volleyball team faces ongoing transphobia from other colleges

The rise of transphobic elements in sports has become a recurring theme in the last few years, and a player from the San Jose State’s women’s volleyball team is the latest victim.

University of Nevada vs San Jose State women’s volleyball debacle, explained

Recently, members of the University of Nevada women’s volleyball team and the college were reportedly at loggerheads after choosing radically opposite positions on playing the San Jose State team. The players were reluctant to play a side that allegedly features a transgender player among it’s attackers. One of the team members, Sia Liilii, has accused the administration of ignoring the volleyball squad’s sentiments while issuing a statement that goes against the players’ wishes.

Here’s what Liilii, an outside hitter for the team, had to say on the subject:

“We were pretty upset after that statement came out from our university. It just hit us that we needed to talk about what we wanted to do as a group, make a decision and stand by it. The vast majority of our team decided this is something we wanted to take a stand on. We didn’t want to play against a male player.”

Sia Liilii/Yahoo Sports

Liilii continued:

“In all of our team meetings it just kept coming back to the fact that men do not belong in women’s sports. If you’re born a biological male, you don’t belong in women’s sports. It’s not even about this individual athlete. It’s about fair competition and safety for everyone.”

Sia Liilii/Yahoo Sports

The players chose to forfeit the game, while the university issued another statement, re-affirming its stance about the match going ahead. The game took place and the college didn’t take action against the players who forfeited.

The player in question is Blair Fleming, who’s attracted a barrage of hate on social media following the incident. Recently, a clip of her impressive smash went viral on X, prompting transphobes to unleash their gender-policing opinions. It’s important to note that neither the college nor the player has commented on her gender identity, choosing to protect it amid the incoming hate.

Fleming has been a part of the program for the last two years, and her inclusion initially didn’t attract any negative press. Her performances in these years have been around the average mark, failing to make an all-conference team or leading the conference in kills or kills percentage. Four schools have forfeited their matches against San Jose State so far, citing Fleming’s presence on the team as the reason behind it.

The NCAA rules dictate that all sports’ governing bodies are free to make their own decisions regarding gender inclusivity. USA Volleyball mandatorily requires transgender athletes to submit test reports of their testosterone levels for a year prior at the minimum, in order to determine whether the level is permissible for participation and doesn’t go beyond the “normal female reference range for their age group.”