The highly anticipated volleyball game between San Jose State University (SJSU), transgender star Blair Fleming, and the University of Nevada has been changed venue from Nevada to San Jose State University.
SJSU and Nevada State made the surprise announcement in a joint statement Tuesday.
“The Mountain West Conference women's volleyball game between the University of Nevada and San Jose State University, scheduled for Saturday, October 26th, has been moved from Reno, Nevada to San Jose, California.” statement From both schools. ” The decision to change the location of the game was made in the best interest of both programs and with the health of student-athletes, coaches, athletic staff and spectators in mind. This decision was made with the approval of the Mountain West Conference. ”
Why would Nevada agree to change the location of a game scheduled to be held on campus? One consideration is security. The other thing is that I don't believe the match will happen.
The University of Nevada originally held its Oct. 26 game against SJSU as scheduled despite multiple boycotts from other teams who refused to play due to safety concerns over the presence of male players on SJSU's roster. announced that it would be done.
However, the school made the announcement without consulting the players, and the players decided in a team vote not to play, against the school's wishes. Undaunted, the school ignored the players' vote and insisted the game would go ahead regardless.
No official announcement has been made since the Nevada women's volleyball team insisted it would honor the team's vote and not play.
The controversy over the upcoming game between SJSU and Nevada comes amid a lawsuit filed by SJSU against the NCAA for refusing to inform team members that a man was on the roster.
Fleming's teammate, Brooke Slusser, claims that she shared a locker room and living space with Fleming for two years before learning that Fleming was a man. After learning Fleming's gender, Slusser joined a lawsuit led by women's sports advocate and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines.
Participation in the lawsuit reportedly prompted threats against Slasher, prompting SJSU to increase security at games.
“One of my teammates got a DM. Long story short, she and my team need to stay away from me on the day of the game against Colorado State because it's not a good situation for me, and my team… The team needed to distance themselves,'' Slusser told FOX News Digital. “They had to stay away from me during the game because something was going to happen to me.
“This was the first physical threat that we could easily understand that they were going to physically harm one of us.”
Nevada insists it will not take disciplinary action against players who refuse to play against SJSU. However, due to gender discrimination provisions in the Nevada state constitution, they feel it necessary to publicly announce that the fight will proceed.
“Based on several factors, the university made the decision not to declare a forfeit and proceed with the game as scheduled,” a Nevada spokesperson said. As a public university, the University is legally prohibited from declaring ineligibility for reasons related to gender identity or expression under Article 24 of the Nevada Constitution and other statutes. ”
