The captain of the University of Nevada women’s volleyball team has spoken out against her school, claiming it “dismissed” fears players had about competing with a transgender opponent.
Sia Liilii, the Wolf Pack’s senior captain, says she and her teammates had notified university officials weeks in advance of their decision to forfeit a game against San Jose State, whose roster includes Blaire Fleming, a transgender athlete.
But instead, it was just a day later that the program announced it would forfeit the match, citing that it didn’t have enough players.
Now the captain has tearfully criticized the university for ignoring the team’s concerns about sharing the court with a transgender athlete and not taking their issues seriously.
Sia Liilii, the Wolf Pack’s senior captain, led a press conference Saturday, during which she and her teammates addressed the University of Nevada’s decision to forfeit a game against San Jose State.
“We feel unsafe and fired,” Liilii said during a news conference Saturday, which Riley Gaines also attended.
‘We met with our school officials to give them our team’s new statement, but they didn’t even want to hear it.
‘They told us that we were not educated enough and that we did not understand science. “They told us to reconsider our position.”
Liilii said he was surprised when the university initially decided to move forward with its scheduled game against San Jose State, despite the team’s passionate protests.
‘When the news broke, I was stunned, as were many of my teammates. This is not what we signed up for.’
San Jose State roster features transgender athlete Blaire Fleming
At a press conference, the captain tearfully criticized the university for ignoring the team’s concerns about sharing the court with a transgender athlete.
The saga came to a head on Oct. 13, when the university issued a public statement reaffirming the program’s determination to compete against San Jose State.
The team’s players had previously voted to forfeit the match. According to freshman Kinsley Singleton, she and her teammates had even met privately to discuss their fears about injuries they might suffer playing against a transgender opponent.
The school’s announcement seemed like an act of betrayal to the girls.
“Our university made a decision for us,” Liilii explained. ‘They issued a statement on our behalf saying we were going to play. “They didn’t consult us, they didn’t give us a voice and we didn’t agree.”
Liilii said she was “hurt” to learn that the school was willing to put them in a “position that could potentially hurt us.”
“My teammates and I were so excited, and I’m not sure, I can’t put into words what it feels like to face something like this and know that we’re all alone.”
Liilii, of the University of Nevada women’s volleyball team, spoke out against school officials who she said did not take the team’s concerns seriously.
The team’s players had previously voted to forfeit the match.
Liilii spoke out against his school at a news conference Saturday.
The volleyball star then launched a broader attack directed at the Mountain West Conference and the NCAA, lamenting that the institutions were “failing” them.
Later, sophomore Masyn Navarro took the stage and stated that she and her teammates had been urged to “remain silent” about the incident.
‘It shouldn’t be so difficult to defend women. However, we will now take this opportunity to stand up as a team, as some of us have been told to stay silent,” Navarro said.
The school previously defended its actions and decisions.
In a statement to fox newsa school representative acknowledged that “the majority of the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball team” had decided to forfeit the match.
However, they said the ability to make such a decision was the prerogative of “the university and our athletics department.”
The school also noted that players were free to not participate in the game without suffering any consequences.
They defended their decision not to lose the right by pointing out that doing so would potentially be illegal.
“As a state university, a seizure for reasons related to gender identity or expression could constitute discrimination per se and violate the Nevada Constitution.”
However, Nevada was forced to drop out on Friday when it became clear they would not have enough players to compete in the game.
Fleming, who plays outside hitter and right, has enjoyed two seasons with San Jose State after previously playing at Coastal Carolina.
Fleming, who stands 6-foot-1, currently ranks fourth in the Mountain West in kills and overall points.
This was the fifth time a scheduled San Jose State opponent declined to face them this season, as Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State and Southern Utah University made the same decision.
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.
