Utah State women's volleyball cancels match against team with transgender athlete

Utah State women's volleyball became the fourth team to cancel a game against San Jose State University after it was revealed that SJSU has a male athlete on its team.

Utah State is the third Mountain West Conference team to drop out of a match against SJSU, joining Wyoming and Boise State who dropped out earlier in the week. The fourth team to do so was Southern Utah.

SJSU has a 6'1" male athlete named Blaire Fleming, born Brayden, and is off to its best start in program history. The team recently lost for the first time and is now 9-1 overall.

Utah State issued a statement on its website about the cancellation:

"Utah State University will not participate in its scheduled October 23, 2024, volleyball match at San Jose State University. The University will abide by Mountain West Conference policy regarding how this match is recorded."

'If I was in their shoes, I'd probably do the same thing.'

However, the statement itself was shrouded in controversy as SJSU reportedly asked the school to take it down.

As OutKick reported, after the first reports of Utah State forfeiting the game surfaced, the statement on the school's website mysteriously disappeared.

It was later reported by the outlet that SJSU's president allegedly asked Utah State to remove the statement from its website. Hours later, the statement reappeared on the Utah State website.

The school's announcement mirrors that of the other schools that chose to take a loss instead of compete against the male — they did not provide a specific reason for doing so.

SJSU player Brooke Slusser has said herself, "I think we all know the reason the games are canceled."

Slusser told Blaze News in an exclusive interview that she fully supports the decisions of the other teams not to play her squad, adding, "If I was in their shoes, I'd probably do the same thing."

Reporter Alejandro Avila revealed in a post on X that Slusser has received death threats since speaking out against her teammate.

At the same time, the University of Nevada has taken an opposing stance and announced its intention to play in an upcoming SJSU game.

"The University of Nevada volleyball team remains focused on its upcoming matches with UNLV and San Diego State and intends to play its remaining Mountain West schedule, including the match with San José State University on October 26," the school said.

"The University will continue to abide by the NCAA, Mountain West Conference and USA Volleyball rules and regulations as well as the laws and Constitution of the State of Nevada."

Nevada was suspected to possibly pull out of its October 26 matchup after the mother of volleyball player Carissa Chainey gave an interview to the Daily Signal and remarked that she is "scared for every single player" who plays against Fleming, due to the higher risk of injury.

As for conference officials, they say these decisions are made by the schools themselves.

"The forfeits are following the current policy and will be accounted for in the conference standings," a spokesperson said.

Due to the cancellation by Wyoming for October 5, SJSU's next game is October 10 versus San Diego State University.

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