The upcoming controversial NCAA women's volleyball game will be moved from Reno, Nevada to California's Bay Area, more than 320 miles away.
The upcoming game between San Jose State and the University of Nevada is at the center of a national debate about transgender participation in women's sports. Now, the game, previously scheduled to be played on the University of Nevada's home campus, will be played at Yoshu Uchida Hall in San Jose.
“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. Decision to change the location of the game “This decision was made with the approval of the Mountain West Conference in the best interest of both programs and the health of our student-athletes, coaches, athletic staff and spectators,” reads a joint statement obtained by Fox News Digital. is written. Comments from spokespersons for both San Jose State and Nevada State.
There's no guarantee this match will even take place.
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Nevada Wolf Pack women's volleyball players Sam Brown and Tulsi Gabbard. (Sam Brown Campaign)
Nevada players have indicated privately to the athletic director and publicly to the press that they do not want to play. San Jose State has a player who has identified as transgender, and another is suing the NCAA because he was not informed that a teammate was biologically male. . However, the program has not officially forfeited the match, citing state law.
However, San Jose State must be present in order to receive a bye if a Nevada player does not play. Moving the game to the San Jose State campus means the Spartans won't have to travel to Nevada to secure a forfeited victory. So by making this change, San Jose State would be stripped of a win if a Nevada player chooses to play without leaving his home state.
Four other opposing programs canceled games against the Spartans as the controversy continued. Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State all officially canceled their scheduled games against San Jose State. By officially forfeiting those games, unlike Nevada, there was no need to make any logistical changes, and San Jose State got the forfeit win without going anywhere.
Meanwhile, safety concerns and threats against San Jose State players have made traveling to games a risky move for the Spartans. San Jose State previously said that when Southern Utah announced it would not play the Spartans in September, police protection was assigned to the team immediately after receiving initial word of the opponent's loss. He confirmed this to Fox News Digital.
San Jose State University athlete Brooke Slusser has joined a lawsuit led by Outkick organizer and former college swimmer Riley Gaines against the NCAA over its gender identity policies. Slusser had to share the court, locker room and even rooms on overnight trips with teammate Blair Fleming, but claims he was never informed that Fleming was biologically male. Because of this, I joined this lawsuit.
Slusser previously told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that this led to threats against her.
“One of my teammates got a DM that basically said that she and my team needed to stay away from me on the day of the game against Colorado State because it wasn't going to be a good situation for me. My team had to distance itself,” Slusser said in an exclusive interview with 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 when it was readily apparent that they were going to physically harm one of us.”
Inside San Jose State Police's fight to protect female athletes under threat from transgender culture wars
Colorado State University police monitor Moby Arena behind the San Jose State University Spartans bench during the NCAA Mountain West women's volleyball game between the Spartans and Colorado State Rams on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024 in Fort Collins, Colorado. . (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
This will result in a heavy police presence during the Spartans' Oct. 3 game at Colorado State University, and San Jose State will have to coordinate player protection with other universities during away games. He admitted to FOX News Digital that he had no choice but to do so.
Security at the Cadets East Gym on the Air Force Campus in Colorado was on high alert during last weekend's game against the Air Force Academy, and footage purportedly showing interactions between fans and security sparks controversy. It has become a situation.
Fans who attended the game claimed that Air Force security forces forced those wearing shirts protesting transgender participation in women's sports to hide their messages if they wanted to enter to watch the game. . Other witnesses told FOX News Digital they saw similar incidents occur.
“Air Force Athletics is taking the necessary steps to provide a safe environment for athletes, coaches, staff and fans at all home sporting events,” an Air Force spokesperson told Fox News Digital. he said.
San Jose State was scheduled to travel to Reno to play the Wolfpack later this week, but there was no guarantee that Nevada's players would be on the court. Nevada told Fox News Digital that players will not face disciplinary action if they refuse to play in the next game.
However, Nevada cannot forfeit its upcoming game because of state law, the program previously told Fox News Digital.
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San Jose State setter Brooke Slusser, front row left to right, libero Randylyn Reeves and outside hitter, during the first set of an NCAA college volleyball game against Colorado State University on Thursday, Oct. 3. Blair Fleming celebrates scoring with libero Alessia Buffani. 2024, Fort Collins, Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zarbowski)
“The University has made the decision not to declare a disqualification and to proceed with the games as scheduled based on several factors.As a public university, the University has made the decision not to declare a disqualification and to proceed as scheduled. “We are legally prohibited from declaring disqualification for reasons related to gender identity or expression,” a Nevada spokesperson said.
The Nevada Constitution was amended in 2022, when Nevada voted to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment, which added gender identity to the list of protected categories. Nevada Sen. Pat Spearman, D-North Las Vegas, who co-sponsored the bill to get it on the ballot, said the law helps transgender people maintain their identities. Ta.
Therefore, forfeiting the game against San Jose State would be a violation of Nevada law. The other four programs that have already officially disabled matches for transgender athletes are based in states without such laws. In fact, Boise State's home state of Idaho has a state law banning transgender participation in women's sports.
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