Rather than risk the safety of the members of its girls’ volleyball team, Boise State University chose to forfeit its match against against San Jose State on Saturday. The undefeated San Jose State squad features Blaire Fleming, a biological male who identifies as a female.
Boise State is the second school to forfeit a match against San Jose State, as Southern Utah also chose to forfeit its match against San Jose State on September 14. Neither university has given an official reason for their forfeit, but it is speculated that they were wary of having their females compete against a team featuring a biological male. The San Jose State team now has a record of 10-0, including the two forfeits.
Boise State announced its intention to forfeit the match in a statement on Friday: “Boise State volleyball will not play its scheduled match at San José State on Saturday, Sept. 28. Per Mountain West Conference policy, the Conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Boise State. The Broncos will next compete on Oct. 3 against Air Force.”
While Boise State was a little vague on its reason for forfeiting the match, Idaho Governor Brad Little, a Republican, praised the decision.
“I applaud @BoiseState for working within the spirit of my Executive Order, the Defending Women’s Sports Act. We need to ensure player safety for all of our female athletes and continue the fight for fairness in women’s sports,” Little posted on X.
The NCAA issued a tepid statement that didn’t really address the issue: “College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America and the NCAA members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition for all student-athletes in all NCAA championships.”
Before the match, the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) sent a letter to the Mountain West Conference, asking it do more to protect female athletes.
“Over the past few weeks, we have spoken with distraught student-athletes and their parents, coaches, and administrators throughout the Mountain West Conference (MWC) regarding a crisis in MWC women’s volleyball,” the letter said. “Currently, the MWC, an NCAA member athletic conference, of which all but one of your schools is a public university, San Jose State University (SJSU), a California state university and MWC member school, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), are violating federal law by implementing and enforcing the NCAA transgender eligibility policies (TEP) and permitting a transgender-identifying male, Blaire Fleming, to compete on the SJSU women’s volleyball team.”
ICONS is in the midst of a lawsuit against the NCAA, alleging it is creating unfair competition in female athletics. The lawsuit is headlined by Riley Gaines, the Kentucky swimmer who lost out on a trophy when she tied male swimmer Lia Thomas.
“This lawsuit against the NCAA isn’t just about competition; it’s a fight for the very essence of women’s sports,” said Marshi Smith, an ICONS co-founder and an NCAA champion in swimming. “We’re standing up for justice and the rights of female athletes to compete on a level playing field. It’s about preserving the legacy of Title IX and ensuring that the future of women’s sports is as bright as its past.”
Further complicating the matter, one San Jose State player, senior co-captain Brooke Slusser, a teammate of Fleming’s, has joined the class-action lawsuit along with more than a dozen female athletes. Slusser claims she was not informed that a biological male was on the team, and has been assigned to room with him on road trips.
Slusser first realized the issue with Fleming while on the court, with the complaint noting that he “played volleyball with jumping ability and power that surpassed that of any girl on the team.” The safety of the women on the team is a major concern for Slusser.
“One thing that’s important in this case is really the physical safety issues in volleyball,” Slusser’s attorney Bill Bock said, according to OutKick Sports. “And that’s what they’re facing in practice every day. So it’s just a crazy, misguided policy that steals athletic dreams from women and gives them to men, and at the same time, puts women’s health and safety in danger.”
San Jose State tried to hide Fleming’s sex at first. When it became public, they advised members of the team not to speak publicly on the subject or, as the complaint explains, “things would go badly for the team members.”
Unfortunately for Fleming and other males who wish to play in sports intended for females, the women are standing up and fighting against this nonsense. This is what female empowerment should look like.
