More than half of San Jose State University's women's volleyball team is looking to transfer to another school after the school's decision to field a transgender “woman” on the team led to forfeited games and lawsuits. .
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday that seven San Jose State players who are eligible to remain on the team next season have entered the NCAA transfer portal and expressed a desire to play at another school. Those players are Nayeri Tia, Mari Lawton, Eva Martin, Laurel Barsocchini, Kiyana Faupula, Jade Epps and Teya Nguyen.
Between those transfers and the loss of players who played the longest four seasons, only six eligible players remain. The Spartans interpret this as offering the team a “fresh start” after what head coach Todd Kress called its “most difficult” season.
courtship disaster
Of course, the season wouldn't have been so difficult if the university, with the help and backing of the NCAA, hadn't put a 6-foot-1 female hopeful named Blair Fleming on the team. And to make matters worse, if he had kept his true gender, it would have been a secret from his teammates. They were furious when they learned the truth.
According to Fox News,
In September, co-captain Brooke Slusser joined the lawsuit against the NCAA, alleging that the program failed to inform her and other players on the team about Fleming's birth gender. Slusser claimed he was made to share changing and sleeping spaces with Fleming, not knowing that Fleming was biologically male.
Slusser, along with several other Mountain West players, filed a separate lawsuit against the conference and San Jose State in November over Fleming's attendance. The lawsuit included testimony from former San Jose State volleyball players Alyssa Sugai and Elle Patterson alleging that they were given scholarships in Fleming's favor.
Those same players and assistant coach Melissa Batty-Smooth also claimed that Fleming planned to spike Slusser in the face during an October game. “Slusser was not spiked in the face in that game,” Fox News wrote, “and the investigation by Mountain West ended without finding sufficient evidence of an alleged conspiracy.”
favorite son
The Spartans suspended Battie Smooth in early November after she filed a Title IX complaint alleging the program favored Fleming, who received a full scholarship, over other players.
After the suspension was announced, Slusser told Fox News:
After learning she had been released, much of the team was broken down and distraught, with even one of her teammates feeling “not safe anymore.” Because there's no one right now. I feel like I can go and talk about my concerns and my actual feelings and I can actually speak freely in public.
moreover:
I think everyone can see in my circle and in my gym that (the coaching staff) are not here to support me. They're here to support Blair, and they're basically going to do anything to continue to support Blair and decided they're not going to be there for me and my needs. I've decided that I can't really trust anyone here.
Fleming's teammates weren't the only ones upset about his participation. Other schools abandoned the match rather than pit their girls against Fleming and his fiery spikes. (He led the team in “kills,” or unreturned spikes.) During the regular season, San Jose State won a whopping six games in forfeits. Two of these forfeitures were courtesy of Boise State University.
Two Boise State players, along with other Mountain West players, filed a lawsuit to expel Fleming from the conference and the Spartans from the conference tournament. A federal judge and an appeals court both ruled against them.
Boise State then forfeited its semifinal game against San Jose State during the tournament, advancing the Spartans to the championship game, where they lost.
Foresight Saga
Sports according to Yahoo!:
The NCAA allows transgender female athletes to compete if they meet eligibility criteria set by the sport's individual governing body. In the case of women's volleyball, this means that transgender female athletes must provide documentation of their testosterone levels from at least the previous year to prove that they do not exceed the “normal reference range for women in their age group.” It means that.
California, on the other hand, allows athletes to play on the team of the gender they identify with. So it was no surprise that San Jose State acquired Fleming to its women's volleyball team when she entered the transfer portal. However, it is surprising that the coaching staff never anticipated the negative consequences of doing so.
Kress told Fox News:
This has been one of the most difficult seasons I have ever experienced and I know this is also true for many of our players and staff who have supported us throughout. My priorities were to maintain focus on the court despite outside noise and ensure the overall safety and health of my players.
Does “ensuring[the player's]overall safety and well-being” extend to exposing the player to physical danger from biological males, whether on the court or in the locker or hotel room? Apparently not.
Fleming is no longer eligible to play (nor is Slasher), so this controversy will likely be resolved at San Jose State. However, given the NCAA's continued efforts to tackle trans cults, transferred players may find themselves in the same situation next season.
