U of Nevada female volleyball players refuse to show up for match against 6-ft-tall male player
‘Due to not having enough players to compete, the University of Nevada women's volleyball team will not play its scheduled Mountain West Conference match at San José State on Saturday,’ the school announced.
Female sports advocate Riley Gaines previously called the presence of the male volleyball player on a women’s team ‘unfair, unsafe, and regressive.’
The University of Nevada, Reno’s (UNR) female volleyball team forfeited a match against a team with a male player.
UNR had originally intended to go ahead with the planned Saturday match despite its female athletes’ refusal, but so many of the volleyball players withdrew that the game could not go ahead.
“Due to not having enough players to compete, the University of Nevada women’s volleyball team will not play its scheduled Mountain West Conference match at San José State on Saturday, Oct. 26. Per Mountain West Conference policy, the match will be recorded as a conference loss for Nevada,” UNR announced on Thursday.
The UNR players made their decisions because their prospective opponents on San Jose State University’s (SJSU) female volleyball team included Blaire Fleming, a 6-foot-tall man.
UNR’s team is the fifth to decline to play against Fleming. Other schools that have done so are the Universities of Utah State, Boise State, Wyoming, and Southern Utah.
“We, the University of Nevada Reno women’s volleyball team, forfeit against San Jose State University and stand united in solidarity with the volleyball teams of Southern Utah University, Boise State University, the University of Wyoming, and Utah State University. We demand that our right to safety and fair competition on the court be upheld. We refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes,” UNR’s players previously told OutKick.
Women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines condemned Fleming’s unfair advantage against his female opponents, calling his competing against women “unfair, unsafe, and regressive.”
If you’re wondering why teams are forfeiting against @SJSU, here’s the reason.
Last night another woman was smashed in the face by a kill from a man posing as a woman.
It’s unfair, unsafe, and regressive, yet our “leaders” remain silent. pic.twitter.com/OS15AFxQsp— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) October 18, 2024
Brook Slusser, who plays on SJSU’s team, praised the UNR athletes’ choice to forfeit.
In response to a request for comment, UNR shared with Campus Reform its Oct. 17 statement on the team’s decision, writing: “While players are not authorized to forfeit the match – this decision is one that only the University and our Department of Athletics can officially make – the University continues to support the rights of the volleyball players who choose not to participate.”
”While players are not authorized to forfeit the match – this decision is one that only the University and our Department of Athletics can officially make – the University continues to support the rights of the volleyball players who choose not to participate,” the statement continued.
