Volleyball Player Almost Forced to Face Screams from Transgender Opponent, Alleges School Pressured Team to Compete

Players from the University of Nevada, Reno women’s volleyball team held a news conference Saturday to address representatives from their school. reluctance to lose a game against a team with a transgender player.

Along with former NCAA swimmer and OutKick contributor Riley Gainesseveral players spoke about the situation on the day they were scheduled to face San Jose State. The program officially announced it would forfeit the game on Friday due to not having enough players, but the players had told their athletic department they did not want to play San Jose State weeks earlier.

Wolf Pack team captain Sia Liilii broke down in tears from the moment she took the podium as she recounted her experience telling school officials she did not want to compete against a transgender player, adding that she was pressured to do so. anyway.

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“When the news broke, I was stunned, as were many of my teammates. This is not what we signed up for,” said an emotional Liilii.

Liilii referenced a statement the university released on Oct. 13, asserting that the program intends to face San Jose State despite players voting to leave.

“Our university made a decision for us. They issued a statement on our behalf saying we were going to play. They didn’t consult us, they didn’t give us a voice and we didn’t agree,” Liilii said. “It hurt me to know that our university was putting us in a position that could potentially hurt us. My teammates and I were very emotional, and I’m not sure, I can’t put into words what it feels like to face something like this and know that “We are all on our own.”

Nevada previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital confirming that the players had requested forfeiting the game but did not have the authority to do so themselves.

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“The majority of the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball team issued a statement to the university informing it that the team had decided to forfeit its scheduled match with San Jose State University. While the players are not authorized to forfeit the match, this decision is an “Only the university and our athletics department can officially do so,” the statement reads.

The university added that any player was free to not participate in the game without consequences.

Liilii said Saturday that when his teammates approached school officials to express their desire to forfeit the game, they reprimanded them that they “didn’t understand the science” and asked them to reconsider their stance.

“We felt insecure and fired,” Liilii said, sobbing. “We met with our school officials to give them our team’s new statement, but they didn’t even want to hear it. They told us we weren’t educated enough and didn’t understand science. “They told us to reconsider our position.”

Nevada Wolf Pack women’s volleyball players with Sam Brown and Tulsi Gabbard. (Sam Brown campaign)

In addition to his university, Liilii also criticized the Mountain West Conference and the NCAA, saying the institutions “are failing us.”

Nevada sophomore Masyn Navarro alleged that her teammates had been told to “stay quiet” about the controversy during the press conference.

“It shouldn’t be so difficult to stand up for women. However, now we will take this opportunity to do it as a team since some of us have been told to stay silent,” Navarro said.

Kinsley Singleton, a freshman from Nevada, said her teammates had multiple meetings in recent weeks and shared their fears of possible injuries if they had to play against a transgender opponent.

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The program previously said it couldn’t forfeit the match because it would be a violation of state law. Article I, Section 24 of the Nevada Constitution states that “This state or any of its political subdivisions shall not deny or abridge equal rights under the law on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin.”

However, that constitution was revised in 2022 when Nevada voted to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment, which added gender identity to the list of protections.

Nevada state Sen. Pat Spearman, a Democrat from north Las Vegas who co-sponsored the bill to put it on the ballot, said the law has helped transgender people maintain their identity.

“As a state university, a seizure for reasons related to gender identity or expression could constitute discrimination per se and violate the Nevada Constitution,” the university’s statement said.

However, after the controversy drew national attention and it was announced that the game would be moved from Nevada to California’s Bay Area, the program finally announced an official forfeit once it became clear it would not have enough players to compete.

Nevada is the fifth team to lose a game against San Jose State, joining Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State. The cancellations come with a San Jose State player involved in a lawsuit against the NCAA for being forced to compete with a transgender teammate who is still on the team.

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San Jose State player Brooke Slusser has joined a lawsuit led by OutKick host and former college swimmer Riley Gaines against the NCAA over its gender identity policies. Slusser joined this lawsuit because she claims she had to share a court, a locker room and even a room on overnight trips with teammate Blaire Fleming without ever being told that Fleming was a biological male.

Blaire Fleming, a redshirt senior at San Jose State University, plays outside hitter and right hitter on the women’s volleyball team. (San Jose State University)

San Jose State responded to the loss in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“All of our athletes comply with the policies of the NCAA and the Mountain West Conference, and are eligible to play under the rules of those organizations. We will continue to take steps to prioritize the health and safety of our students as they pursue the opportunities they have earned to compete,” the statement said.

Nevada players, including Liilii and Sierra Bernard, wrote an op-ed for Fox News Digital on Friday, praising former President Trump for his stance advocating for a ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports.

“President Trump has our back, and this election is more important than politics, but about leaders who will support women on and off the court, defending our right to compete safely and fairly,” the players wrote. . “As proud athletesWe will continue to fight for justice on the field and in women’s sports. But it shouldn’t be a fight we have to face alone.”

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