San Jose State women’s volleyball loses more than third of team after controversial season featuring male player
The departure of so many players follows a controversial season in which San Jose State allowed a male player on the female volleyball team.
‘Student athletes have the ability to make decisions about their college athletic careers, and we have the utmost respect for that,’ the school said.
Several players have left San Jose State University’s female volleyball team, the Spartans, after a season riddled with controversy surrounding the presence of a male player, Blaire Fleming.
Seven players are leaving the team, Fox News reported on Friday. The total team size is 19, meaning San Jose State will be losing more than a third of its team.
“Student athletes have the ability to make decisions about their college athletic careers, and we have the utmost respect for that,” the university said in a statement that was provided to Fox News.
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The announcement comes after a tumultuous time for the Spartans.
San Jose State provoked outrage when it was discovered that Fleming, who is six feet tall and claims to be a female, was actually a man. Fleming’s dominance as a male player facing female players made opponents raise concerns of unfairness.
Several players were also allegedly not informed by the school about their teammate’s true biological sex.
Fleming’s presence and unfair advantages have caused opponent teams to forfeit matches against the Spartans seven times.
Spartans head coach Todd Kress expressed his disapproval of at least one of the forfeitures.
“Sadly, others who for years have played this same team without incident chose not to play us this season. To be clear, we did not celebrate a single win by forfeiture. Instead, we braced for the fallout. Each forfeiture announcement unleashed appalling, hateful messages individuals chose to send directly to our student-athletes, our coaching staff and many associated with our program,” he said, according to Fox News.
Team co-captain Brooke Slusser, who has been vocal about how the school handled the controversy, said: “You can’t truly voice how you’re feeling without them just trying to cover it up or act like it’s all OK,” Fox News wrote.
Campus Reform reached out to San Jose State University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
