The Utah State Aggies are the latest women's volleyball team to choose not to participate in a scheduled game against San Jose State University because a biological male plays on the women's team.
The university released a statement announcing that it will not be participating in the Oct. 23 volleyball game at SJSU.
“The university will follow Mountain West Conference policy regarding how this game will be recorded.” said the statement.
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A volleyball net during the Division III Women's Volleyball Championship held at the U.S. Cellular Center on November 23, 2019 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photo, Getty Images)
A San Jose State spokesperson also confirmed to Fox News Digital that the Aggies informed the team that the game was canceled and Utah State would lose due to a forfeit.
Utah State will become the fourth team to forfeit a game against SJSU if it becomes official. Southern Utah, Boise State and the University of Wyoming all did so. All three schools have so far not given reasons for their losses other than to say they understand the impact on their win-loss records.
The NCAA issued a statement against Outkick when Boise State forfeited its game against SJSU.
“College sports are the highest stage for women's sports in America, and NCAA members will continue to advance Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women's sports, and ensure that every NCAA championship provides equal access to all student-athletes. We will ensure competition.”
Trans female athlete 'blinded' on volleyball court prompts civil rights complaint and lawsuit
Blair Fleming, a transgender redshirt senior at SJSU, is at the center of a controversial forfeiture case. SJSU is undefeated this season, and the 6-foot-1 Fleming has helped the Spartans' efforts.
Fleming's teammate, Brooke Slusser, joins other female athletes, including former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, in suing the NCAA over its policies regarding transgender athletes, saying the current system is a challenge to fairness and integrity in women's sports. They argued that it was harming women's lives and putting women at risk.
Gaines praised Boise State's athletic department and everyone involved in the decision to cancel the game, and said he had seen the statement before it was taken down and praised Utah State.
Blair Fleming, a redshirt senior at San Jose State University, plays as an outside hitter and right-side hitter on the women's volleyball team. (San Jose State University)
“This kind of unity is what I (and many others who have been working much longer than me) have been pushing for over the past two years.” Gaines tweeted.. “The towers in the sand of gender ideology are crumbling, and it is a glorious sight.”
Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz also praised the Utah State and Southern Utah women's volleyball teams.
“We're standing behind you and rooting for you!” It's time to take action to protect our sport. Thank you athletes and universities for doing the right thing! ”
Macy Petty, a legislative assistant with Concerned Women of America and an NCAA volleyball player, talked about how players are “blindsided” by the NCAA's failure to inform teams that they have a transgender player on the opposing team. He spoke with FOX News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Witten about how he feels.
“There's no informed consent from the schools here, there's no informed consent from the female players. When they go on the court, they're completely blinded and they know there's a male player on the other side,” Petty said. Ta.
“The female athletes were put in the strange position of showing up on the court, looking at the other side, and realizing there was something different about this game. I had never seen an athlete play like this before. First of all, this player is not a woman, but her net is 7 inches shorter than the male player. ”
NCAA volleyball team during the Division I Men's Volleyball Championship at Walter Pyramid on May 4, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (John W. McDonough/NCAA Photo via Getty Images)
Slusser said he joined Gaines and others in their lawsuit against the NCAA because he didn't know Fleming was transgender, even though they shared a room together on team trips.
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According to the Cowboy State Daily, Slusser's complaint states, “Brooke estimates that Fleming's spike speed exceeded 80 miles per hour, which is faster than a woman hitting a volleyball. It was faster than I had ever seen her go.” “Although the girls were doing their best to avoid Fleming's spikes, they were still unable to fully protect themselves.”
FOX News' Jackson Thompson and Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
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