Concerns Over Male Players in Women’s Volleyball Despite New Policy

A recent report reveals that three male athletes are participating in girls’ volleyball, even though USA Volleyball implemented a new policy in 2025 aimed at restricting the women’s category to individuals identified as women and girls.

USA Volleyball (USAV), responsible for regulating junior club competitions via regional associations across the U.S., established guidelines requiring participants in the women’s division to be considered female based on biological sex in July 2025. According to a report from redux, at least three male competitors have continued to take part in USAV-sanctioned competitions, with at least two presenting themselves as “born female” without disclosing their biological sex to teammates or officials.

One of these athletes is known as “Bly” Dailey from Centaur High School in Lafayette, Colorado. Dailey attempted to conceal her biological sex, but information revealed her identity. A court brief submitted to the Supreme Court includes statements from various transgender advocacy groups opposing state restrictions on male involvement in women’s sports. This brief carries personal accounts from transgender male athletes claiming that regulations hinder women’s access to competitive sports.

Another player in the USAV event is Logan O’Brien. Similar to Dailey, O’Brien seems to have concealed his biological sex from his team, reportedly using an altered birth certificate to indicate he was born female.

The roster for the Garden Empire Volleyball Association also features Sawyer Chiapano, who does not hide his transgender identity and proudly refers to himself as a “gender cool champion.”

USA Volleyball did not provide a comment for this story, as noted by redux. However, the Independent Council for Women in Sport (ICONS) raised concerns regarding the organization’s compliance with eligibility standards.

“Federal laws such as Title IX and the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act mandate that governing bodies and educational institutions maintain single-sex sports teams for girls. Families invest significant amounts of money annually for their daughters to participate, and it’s the least USA Volleyball can do to enforce basic eligibility rules to prevent boys from competing on girls’ teams,” stated a spokesperson.

She continued, “The current position of USA Volleyball, which places the onus of identifying and determining player gender on players and their families, indicates a failure in duty. It’s unacceptable to put young female athletes at risk while clearly violating both the law and the intent of its own policies.”