University of Wyoming women's volleyball player Macy Boggs testifies at a state Senate hearing about her team's forfeiture of two games against San Jose State in 2024 over a controversy involving transgender player Blair Fleming. did.
Boggs is one of 11 former and current Mountain West volleyball players who have filed a lawsuit against SJSU and the conference, which restricts athletic participation to an athlete's biological sex at the time he was born in the state. He expressed support for a bill that would require such restrictions.
But for Boggs, no amount of legislation will give her the chance to compete in the volleyball postseason again. Two losses for the University of Wyoming, against SJSU on Oct. 5 and Nov. 14, cost the team a chance to play in the Mountain West Tournament, and her career ended.
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“My team was penalized with two losses for refusing to play against the opposing team's male athletes. This misconduct ultimately prevented us from competing in the Mountain West Tournament.” Boggs he said. “I was stripped of the opportunity to play in my final college game, which is something no woman should ever have to face: either play against a team featuring male athletes on a women's scholarship or forfeit the rest of the season.” No woman should have to face such a decision.
“We have the right to compete with athletes whose biology matches ours, not against male standards.”
Sacrificing the chance to compete for a championship to ensure the safety of her and her teammates left a strong impression on Boggs that she won't soon forget.
“My team has told us that we are not worthy of being safe on the court, that we are not important enough to participate in fair competition, and that women should be silent for the benefit of men. “I was disappointed,” she said. “This issue is not just about winning or losing. It's about respecting women and girls.”
Wyoming Republican Sen. Wendy Schuler, a former college athlete, is the bill's sponsor and chair of the Senate Education Committee. Boggs urged the state Legislature to pass legislation to protect future female athletes from similar situations. The bill passed on a 4-1 vote.
Twenty-five states already have laws banning transgender athletes from participating in women's and girls' sports. A bill to block it at the national level has already been passed in the House of Representatives.
Boggs hopes her experience will inspire lawmakers to prevent this from happening elsewhere.
“It may be too late for me to finish my career on the terms the team got, but it's not too late for the young girls who will come after us,” she said. “Forcing women to compete with or against biological men is fundamentally unfair, unsafe, and a violation of women's rights.”
Ms. Boggs expressed her belief that gender is determined by birth and “not by feelings.”
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Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit are SJSU co-captains Brooke Slusser, Alyssa Sugai, Elle Patterson, Nicanora Clark, Kaylee Ray, Xia Lilly, Sierra Grizzle, Jordan Sandy, and Kaitlyn Van Kirk. , Kirsten Van Kirk. Former SJSU volleyball assistant coach Melissa Batty Smooth, who was suspended from San Jose State after filing a Title IX complaint alleging San Jose State gave preferential treatment to a transgender athlete, is also a plaintiff.
Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer and prominent conservative influencer, regularly works with other female athletes affected by transgender inclusion and is leading a lawsuit against the NCAA on the issue. has provided an explanation of what the players experienced, based on discussions with them. Jan. 9 at a public hearing in Idaho.
“They were emotionally blackmailed into believing they were the problem,” Gaines said of the players, adding that Boise State was the only school to show administrative support to players who wanted to withdraw. He added.
SJSU Transgender Volleyball Scandal: Alleged Timeline, Political Implications, and Intensifying Cultural Movement
“The overwhelming majority of them didn't want this to happen to them. None of them asked for this. This is not the situation they wanted to be in,” Gaines added. “They were afraid. Afraid to stand up. Afraid to stand up for themselves. Afraid of what could happen if they simply said, 'Men and women are different.' “
Marci Smith, co-founder of the independent Women's Sports Council, a legal advocacy group, said the female athletes involved in the lawsuit feared retaliation from their universities for speaking out against transgender participation. He testified that he felt threatened.
“What are they going to do to us by speaking up?” Smith said players often asked.
Smith elaborated on those players' questions in a follow-up statement to Fox News Digital.
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San Jose State Spartans players before a game against the Air Force Falcons on Falcon Court in the East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Webbers/Getty Images)
“They're often afraid of losing their scholarship or being kicked off the team. At San Jose State, administrators used those fears to tell us that this is not about them and that it's not about them,” Blair Fleming said. I told him to shut up because he was talking about something,” Smith said.
Louisiana Tech volleyball head coach Amber McCray confirmed to Fox News Digital that the team was not aware of Fleming's natural birth gender status until the day after the game due to rumors from his parents. he admitted.
Los Angeles Tech athletic director Ryan Ivey said in an email obtained by Fox News Digital that the team would have asked for a “different outcome” if officials had known Fleming's natural birth gender. He suggested that he would have done so.
Slusser claims in the lawsuit that she had to share a bedroom and locker room with Fleming, and told Fox News Digital that the experience was “traumatic.”
“This season has been so traumatic that I don't even have a proud moment,” Slusser said.
SJSU also acknowledged the recent exodus of volleyball players who entered the transfer portal. Nearly all remaining players who are still eligible are considering leaving the program.
“Student-athletes have the ability to make decisions about their collegiate athletic careers, and we fully respect that,” the statement said.
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