The University of Nevada has agreed to forfeit the school’s women’s volleyball match against San Jose State and transgender player Blaire Fleming.
The move comes after Nevada players found themselves at odds with their school over the previously scheduled game, as they issued a statement saying they would not compete against San Jose State and Fleming on Oct. 26.
‘We demand that our right to safety and fair competition on the field be respected. “We refuse to participate in any match that promotes injustice against female athletes,” the players said in a statement. sent to OutKick.
However, the University of Nevada initially refused to acknowledge the players’ decision and responded in a statement of its own, saying the volleyball team’s decision “does not represent” the school’s views.
On Friday, however, Nevada finally agreed to resign, announcing that they would not have enough players to compete.
San Jose State has been fielding a transgender player in Blaire Fleming (pictured)
But Nevada has become the fifth school to lose a matchup against the school.
This is the fifth time a scheduled San Jose State opponent has declined to face them this season, as Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State and Southern Utah University have all made the same decision.
The decision by Nevada officials came after the school, along with San Jose State, agreed that the game would be moved to the latter’s campus.
Nevada faced Fresno State on Thursday and then the former school provided two buses for its players, one supposedly destined for campus and the other for San Jose.
The players then decided to return to Reno.
Following Nevada’s initial statement, in which the school said the game against San Jose State would go ahead, Nevada team captain Sia Liilii revealed that her team had been caught off guard.
Fleming, who stands 6-foot-1, is currently among his conference leaders in scoring.
Five teams have lost games against SJSU over safety concerns due to Fleming
‘The school issued that statement without consulting our team at all. “We were pretty upset because we weren’t notified that a statement was coming out,” Liilii told OutKick.
More than a dozen athletes, including a teammate of Fleming’s, accuse the NCAA of knowingly violating a law prohibiting discrimination based on sex by allowing a transgender player to compete in women’s sports.
Fleming, who plays outside hitter and right, has enjoyed two seasons with San Jose State after previously playing at Coastal Carolina.
The 6-foot-1 player currently ranks fourth in the Mountain West in kills and overall points.
