Controversy Surrounds UNR Volleyball Team’s Response to Playing Against Transgender Athlete

A former University of Nevada mother has raised concerns after her daughter’s volleyball team felt “emotionally blackmailed” into playing against a transgender athlete at San Jose State University.

According to April Chaney, the UNR volleyball players were reprimanded in a meeting when they expressed their wish not to compete against SJSU’s Blair Fleming. Chaney claimed that Title IX officials were notably absent during this meeting, especially since other schools had withdrawn from matches against SJSU. Recently, the Department of Education determined that SJSU breached Title IX by allowing Fleming to compete.

Chaney mentioned that she filed a Title IX complaint with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, expressing her disgust over the situation.

“UNR Athletics discriminated by not having a Title IX official present… I felt really angry. It seemed like there was no protection for the team players. Their voices were essentially ignored because they didn’t align with the NCAA’s gender ideology,” Chaney stated.

Moreover, UNR hinted at possible legal ramifications if the team refused to play SJSU, an implication that Marci Smith, a former NCAA swimmer and co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, perceived as a threat.

Smith highlighted the intense pressure exerted on the female students, describing tactics that included emotional blackmail and threats of legal issues. “When authority figures threaten you for standing up for your rights, it’s a serious matter,” she said.

Thea Lilly, a former captain of the UNR women’s volleyball team, remarked that the school pressured the team to consider the facts regarding Fleming’s hormone treatment, arguing that it provided “no benefit” in terms of competitiveness. Following the meeting, many players felt uncomfortable about the situation.

“The school maintained that Blair had no advantage because he was on estrogen and testosterone blockers. Still, numerous players, including myself, expressed our reluctance due to fairness and safety concerns,” she mentioned.

Chaney noted that the players faced bullying for resisting participation against Fleming, leading to her frustration with the eventual forfeit of the game.

Ultimately, UNR forfeited the match against SJSU, but Chaney asserts it wasn’t mainly due to the presence of a transgender player. Rather, the team lacked enough players following Fleming’s departure for non-related reasons. The UNR team struggled subsequently, finishing the season with a record of 12 wins and 17 losses.

Conversely, SJSU achieved a record of 14 wins and 7 losses for the season while under Fleming’s participation.