Thirteen Republican members of Congress have written to the Mountain West Conference urging Commissioner Gloria Nevarez to ban transgender athletes from competing in sports against cisgender women.
The letter comes amid ongoing controversy over one of the conference’s top volleyball players, Blaire Fleming, who is reportedly transgender. The redshirt senior and transfer from Coastal Carolina currently ranks third in the Mountain West in points and fourth in kills. The Spartans have won seven games by forfeit this season as a series of rivals refused to play Fleming.
“We write with serious concerns about safety and fair competition standards for women
athletes participating in the Mountain West Conference,” reads the open letter signed by members of the House and Senate. “We urge you to update your guidelines for student athletes to prevent biological males from competing with biological female students in women’s sports.”
Signatories include Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho and Burgess Owens, the Tennessee congressman who previously won a Super Bowl at the end of the 1980 season as a defensive back for the Oakland Raiders.
Blaire Fleming #3 of the San Jose State Spartans looks on during a recent game
Thirteen Republican members of Congress have written to the Mountain West Conference urging Commissioner Gloria Nevarez to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports
The 13 lawmakers argue that the presence of a trans athlete on a women’s team undermines Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any school or educational institution that receives federal funding.
“Recently, members of your conference forfeited matches, putting their competitive position at stake
to ensure the safety of their female athletes,” the letter continued. “The Mountain West Conference’s inability to ban biological males from competing in women’s sports is unfair to the women and girls who have worked tirelessly to compete at the collegiate level.
“We applaud the courage of these female athletes and the universities in our home states for taking a stand to preserve Title IX when the Mountain West Conference would not.”
Arguing that the conference is failing to create an “environment in which women can compete without fear for their safety,” lawmakers pointed to its NCAA rival, the NAIA.
“In April, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) voted unanimously to allow only students “whose biological sex is female to participate in women’s sports,” the letter continued.
“The NAIA decision is an important step toward protecting the rights and opportunities of female athletes.”
Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez was addressed in the letter
Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, speaks to reporters after a vote at the Capitol on September 11
Burgess Owens, a Tennessee congressman and former Super Bowl winner, signed the letter
Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the forfeits, citing the need for fairness in women’s sports. President-elect Donald Trump recently referenced a volleyball match when asked about transgender athletes in women’s sports during a Fox News town hall.
“I saw the slam, it was a slam,” he said, presumably referring to a recent viral clip in which Fleming tapped an opponent’s ball, who was admittedly “fine.”
“I’ve never seen a ball hit that hard and hit the girl in the head,” Trump added.
Following Trump’s comment, San Diego State issued a statement saying, “It has been falsely reported that a San Diego State University student-athlete was struck in the face with a volleyball during a match with San Jose State University . The ball bounced off the student-athlete’s shoulder, and the athlete was uninjured and did not miss a play.”
San Jose State has made no direct comments about the politicians’ references to “fairness,” and Nevarez did not go into details when discussing the controversy last month.
“I’m learning a lot about the issue,” Nevarez said. “I don’t know much of the language, science or national understanding of how this issue plays out yet. The external influences are on both sides so far. We have an election year. It’s political, so yeah, it feels like a no-win based on all the external pressure.”
San Jose State’s Blaire Fleming previously played at Coastal Carolina before transferring
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, speaks during a news conference
The cancellations could mean some teams won’t qualify for the Nov. 27-30 conference tournament in Las Vegas, where the top six schools will compete for the championship.
“The student-athlete (in question) meets the eligibility standard, so if a team doesn’t play him, it’s a forfeit, which means they suffer a loss,” Nevarez said.
San Jose State coach Todd Kress said playing was his team’s “safe haven” and noted that security and police escorts are now involved when his team takes the court. He has not publicly discussed specific players since the forfeits began.
“I know it’s definitely taken a toll on a lot of them. They are receiving hate mail, which I think is completely ridiculous,” he said in Albuquerque. “Some of those people are the underbelly of society that you attack an 18, 19, 20-year-old woman. And even more so if you’re a parent attacking 18, 19, or 20 year olds.
“Would you want your student-athlete, your daughter, to face the same kind of hate that you exude?”