UW loses second volleyball match against team with transgender player

On By Pranco

The University of Wyoming women’s volleyball team has forfeited its upcoming Thursday match against San Jose State University, the school’s athletic department announced Friday.

It’s the second time UW has forfeited an SJSU game since Blaire Fleming, the California team’s outside hitter, made headlines in September after claiming to be transgender.

“The University of Wyoming volleyball team will not play its scheduled conference match at San José State University on Thursday, November 14,” according to a Friday statement from the athletics department. “Per Mountain West Conference policy, the Conference will record the game as a forfeit and a loss to Wyoming. The Cowgirls will play Fresno State on Saturday, November 16 at 2:00 PM”

The statement does not indicate why the school was forfeited. However, after UW initially committed to play against San Jose in September, even after the Fleming controversy erupted, the school received a huge backlash from lawmakers and members of the public. Some Wyoming volleyball players were also against the idea of ​​playing SJSU, according to their family’s social media posts.

But on October 1st UW announced that it had decided to cancel its Oct. 5 team against SJSU, a reversal from its previous statement.

Utah State University, Southern Utah University and Boise State University also canceled games against the Spartans.

And while their school did not formally support them in the decision, the players at the University of Nevada Reno voted last month to forfeit their Oct. 26 game against San Jose due to Fleming’s participation. The women cited concerns about fairness and safety, making them the first team to specifically name why they canceled.

After sending an email Friday evening to the University of Wyoming asking why UW canceled a second game in San Jose, the school’s spokesperson returned a copy of the athletic department’s original statement.

The lawsuit is ongoing

Fleming is a top player for SJSU’s team and is also at the center of another SJSU player’s lawsuit against the NCAA. The teammate, Brooke Slusser, sued the NCAA, saying its policy allowing men to participate in women’s sports is unfair.

That lawsuit is still ongoing.

Clair McFarland can be reached at [email protected].