‘Didn’t give in’: UNevada abandons volleyball game as players refuse to play against men

The university and team were conflicted about playing San Jose State and its male player

The University of Nevada Reno will officially forfeit its women’s volleyball game against San Jose State University tomorrow.

“Due to an insufficient number of players to compete, the University of Nevada women’s volleyball team will not play its scheduled Mountain West Conference game,” the school announced on its website.

“Per Mountain West Conference policy, the game will be considered a conference loss for Nevada,” the athletics department wrote.

A women’s rights group praised the news.

“The athletes stood their ground in a standoff with the university and did not back down,” the Independent Council on Women’s Sports wrote on X.

UNR has now officially announced that they will forgo Saturday’s volleyball game against a team with a male starter, citing that they “do not have enough players to compete.”

The athletes stood their ground in a standoff with the university and didn’t back down. pic.twitter.com/s3JwfqVVCX

– ICONS (@icons_women) October 25, 2024

The announcement comes after the University of Nevada team refused to play against the San Jose State team, which is led by a male athlete named Blaire Fleming, who identifies as a woman.

The university and the players clashed as the school announced it would not give up at first. The team then voted for the waiver and won the support of the state’s Republican governor, Joe Lombardo.

“As I have stated before, I believe there are competition and safety concerns with this issue, and it is irresponsible for the NCAA to put student-athletes in the position of compromising their personal safety with schools, competition and sports “To reconcile the things they love.” Lombardo wrote on X.

The team is the fifth to officially forfeit against San Jose State as the schools refuse to play a male athlete with a physical advantage.

The controversy has grown as a video of Fleming forcefully serving a ball circulated online in recent days.

Mountain West Conference commissioner Gloria Nevarez said she is still learning the “science” about male athletes competing against women.

“I don’t know much yet about the language, the science or the national understanding of how this issue plays out,” Nevarez told the AP last week. “So far the external influences are on both sides. It’s an election year. It’s political, so outside pressure makes it feel like a lost cause.”

MORE: Female athletes lost almost 900 medals to men: UN report

IMAGE: Nevada Wolf Pack/Facebook

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