Exclusive: Nevada women's volleyball captain doubles down on team's refusal to play transgender opponent

The captain of the University of Nevada women's volleyball team told Blaze News in an exclusive interview that she's disappointed her school decided not to support the team's decision to forfeit a game against a squad with a transgender player.

"Unfortunately our university decided not to back us, and they decided they're going to have the match as scheduled," Nevada Wolf Pack captain Sia Liilii said.

'No student athlete should ever be pressured to play a game where they don’t feel safe — period.'

As Blaze News previously reported, San Jose State University's women's volleyball team features a 6'1" male athlete named Blaire Fleming, born Brayden.

Fleming's presence on the SJSU squad has been the unofficial reason behind four forfeitures by teams at Boise State, Southern Utah, Utah State, and Wyoming.

Even Fleming's own teammate has spoken out about the unfair advantage the male athlete has over female players.

Nevada was next in line to withdraw from a match against SJSU after the Wolf Pack players released a statement announcing their refusal to participate in a match that would jeopardize their safety.

However, school officials decided to override the will of the players and declare that the match against SJSU would proceed as scheduled.

The University of Nevada claimed the players made their decision and statement "independently" and "without consultation with the University or the athletic department."

However, Liilii said she and her teammates tried to go through the proper channels and inform school administrators how they felt, but the university still decided to push forward with the scheduled match.

"The vast majority of us decided that this isn't right, [that] we need to protect women's sports, and we're going to forfeit," the team captain explained.

She added, "To know that the university didn't acknowledge the fact that we're the team that is going to play against [Fleming] was really frustrating, and the way they went about it was not OK."

Liilii said administrators later scheduled a meeting with the team to apologize and let players know the school would not be punishing them if they choose to sit out against SJSU on Oct. 26.

When asked about the contradiction between the school not punishing players while publicly refusing to back their decision to forfeit, Liilii told Blaze News she felt the school was finding a way to distance itself from the players' stance while still following state and NCAA rules surrounding gender diversity.

But Liilii added that she's received a lot of support, particularly from politicians such as Tulsi Gabbard and U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), both of whom recently attended a Nevada women's volleyball game.

"Thank you Sam Brown, Tulsi Gabbard, and Mark Wayne Mullin [sic] for showing your support at our match against Utah State tonight!" Liilii wrote on X.

"Although our university hasn't supported us in this decision, our governor ... [Joe] Lombardo came out with a statement which was really reassuring, too," LiiLiii noted.

Lombardo issued a statement on X about the ordeal, saying in part, "No student athlete should ever be pressured to play a game where they don’t feel safe — period."

"I wholeheartedly respect the decision of the players," the governor added.

"We do have people behind us that are supporting us, and that is really important," Liilii said.

The Nevada captain added that she hopes she will soon "see the light at the end of the tunnel" regarding this controversy.

Regarding whether or not the Nevada volleyball players will protest, participate, or sit out during the SJSU match, Liilii said, "you'll just have to see."

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