Female athletes were 'emotionally blackmailed' over SJSU trans volleyball scandal, Riley Gaines says
Witnesses at a state legislative hearing in Boise, Idaho, on Thursday gave accounts of the "horror" that some college women's volleyball players experienced during the 2024 season amid a national controversy involving a trans athlete.
The testimonies came during a hearing to discuss passing the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, which has been proposed by Idaho state representative Barbara Erhardt.
San Jose State University, whose volleyball team rostered player Blaire Fleiming, and the Mountain West Conference is facing a lawsuit from multiple women's volleyball players alleging the school withheld the fact that Fleming is a biological male from players. The lawsuit also alleged Fleming was given a roster spot and scholarship over female players who claim to have been emotionally and financially impacted by the experience.
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Fleming led the Spartans all the way to the Mountain West Championship game amid the lawsuit. However, eight of San Jose State's matches were forfeited by opponents in the wake of the controversy, including a conference tournament semifinal match against Boise State.
Boise State forfeited three total matches against SJSU in 2024, and were praised by Erhardt and other speakers at the hearing for the decision.
One parent of a player in the conference gave her account of the situation on Thursday. She also condemned all the schools who did not forfeit to SJSU.
"I am an Idaho mom who experienced it first hand with a daughter who played in the Mountain West conference," said a woman named April Cheney.
"NCAA president Charlie Baker, Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez and all the Mountain West college presidents and athletic directors who did not boycott, you failed to protect women's sports. NCAA and Mountain West conference, I blame you for the season that took way a year of eligibility, forced forfeits to record as losses, and a conference championship that was a complete shame!"
Former NCAA swimmer and prominent conservative influencer Riley Gaines, who regularly organizes with other women's athletes who have been impacted by trans inclusion and is leading a lawsuit against the NCAA over the issue, revealed her account of what the players went through, based on discussions with them.
"They were emotionally blackmailed into believing they were the problem," Gaines said of the players, adding that Boise State was the only university that showed administrative support to players who wished to forfeit.
"The overwhelming majority of them did not want this brought upon them. No one asked for this, this is not a situation they wanted to be in," Gaines added. "These girls were terrified, they were terrified to stand tall, they were terrified to stand up for themselves, they were terrified of the things that would potentially come if they merely said ‘Men and women are different.’"
Marshi Smith, the co-founder of the legal advocacy group the Independent Council on Women's Sports, gave a testimony where she claimed that the female athletes who joined the lawsuit felt threatened by retaliation from their university if they spoke out against trans inclusion.
"What will they do to us for speaking up?" the players often asked, according to Smith.
Smith elaborated on these players' questions in a follow-up statement to Fox News Digital.
"They’re often terrified of losing scholarships or being kicked off their teams. At San Jose State, administrators exploited these fears by telling them to stay quiet because it’s Blaire Fleming’s story to tell, not their own," Smith said.
San Jose State has provided a statement to Fox News Digital in response to the statements at Thursday's hearing.
"All San Jose State University student-athletes are eligible to participate in their sports under NCAA and Mountain West Conference rules," the statement read.
Smith also alleges that volleyball players at the University of Nevada, Reno, were threatened with legal action if they refused to compete against San Jose State in a match that was scheduled for October, but was never played.
"At UNR, school administrators warned athletes they could face legal action if they refused to compete against SJSU’s team, which included a male starter," Smith said.
Nevada has not responded to Smith's allegations upon request for comment. The university has previously provided a statement saying the athletes were free to not play the game without discipline and that it was continuing with the match in order to adhere to state law that aims to prevent discrimination against transgenders.
After the players pleaded with their university to forfeit to SJSU weeks prior to the match, the university declined the request and put out a statement insisting it would play the match. But hen the players went public with their grievances over the situation, sparking weeks of controversy. Eventually, Nevada had to cancel the match on Oct. 25, just one day before it was scheduled to be played, because it didn't have enough players willing to play.
However, even with forfeits by Nevada, Boise State, Utah State, Southern Utah and Wyoming this season, dozens of other players were still forced to play against Fleming, some without even knowing of the nature of the player's birth sex.
Their first opponent of the season, Louisiana Tech, took the court against Fleming without knowing about the biological gender of the player.
Louisiana Tech head volleyball coach Amber McCray confirmed to Fox News Digital that her team did not know about the situation involving Fleming's natural birth sex, and they did not find out until the day after the match via rumors from parents.
LA Tech athletic director Ryan Ivey suggested that if they had known Fleming's natural birth sex, the team "would have sought "a different outcome," in emails obtained by Fox News Digital.
Then there are Fleming's own teammates, including former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser, who is leading the lawsuit against the Mountain West, and has also signed on to Gaines' lawsuit against the NCAA, citing her experience with Fleming.
Slusser has told Fox News Digital that the experience has been "traumatic."
"This season has been so traumatizing that I don't even have a proudest moment," Slusser said.
In Slusser's ongoing lawsuit against SJSU and the Mountain West, her plaintiff list also includes players Alyssa Sugai, Elle Patterson, Sia Liilii, Nicanora Clarke, Kaylie Ray, Macey Boggs, Sierra Grizzle, Jordan Sandy, Katelyn Van Kirk, Kiersten Van Kirk and former SJSU assistant volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose.
SJSU has also recently acknowledged a recent mass exodus of volleyball players who entered the transfer portal, as nearly every remaining player who is still eligible is now looking to leave the program.
"Student athletes have the ability to make decisions about their college athletic careers, and we have the utmost respect for that," a statement read.
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