special: On August 30, the Louisiana Tech women’s volleyball team took the court in Fullerton, California for the season opener against San Jose State and Spartans senior Blair Fleming at the annual Cal State Fullerton Invitational. Fleming, one of the top athletes in the entire Mountain West, has been accused in multiple lawsuits of being a trans athlete and biological male.
Louisiana Tech head volleyball coach Amber McCray confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that she and her team were unaware of the allegations when they played an Aug. 30 match against San Jose State. Killed with 14 and total attacks with 29.
A San Jose State spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the Northern California-based university formally notified opponents of its volleyball schedule over its volleyball schedule, the first since the lawsuit was filed in September. Not informed. The game between San Jose State and LA Tech took place before the first lawsuit, amid few reports of the situation by several media outlets.
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Brock Silser and Blair Fleming of the San Jose State Spartans call a play during the first set against the Air Force Falcons on Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Weavers/Getty Images)
The first court documents alleging Fleming is a trans athlete were filed in late September when teammate Brooke Silser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA over its policies on gender identity and eligibility. . Sulzer alleged that San Jose State tried to hide Fleming’s biological gender from Sulzer and other players since Fleming transferred to the school in 2022. Silser claims he shared changing rooms and a bedroom with Fleming without knowing this information.
Asked if San Jose State notified LA Tech about Fleming and the players’ complaints before they first entered court, a San Jose State spokesman noted that Sulcer did not join the lawsuit until September. . The spokesperson declined to confirm whether LA Tech had been notified of the situation earlier.
However, this spokesperson confirmed that San Jose State is in contact with all campuses the team visits for away games to coordinate security. The team was assigned police protection in early October amid alleged threats against Slusser’s well-being, Fox News Digital previously reported. These security efforts include coordinating backup from other police departments when the team travels.
News of the first lawsuit and controversy surrounding Fleming’s presence on the team spread and San Jose State lost a total of seven games to five different teams on its schedule.
But LA Tech’s head volleyball coach and athletic director claims the team didn’t have the information to make an informed decision about whether they should forfeit. Instead, McCray said the team found out the next day through word of mouth from parents who had heard the rumors.
McCray and LA Tech athletic director Ryan Ivey first addressed the lack of information about the situation in an email response to a letter from The Concerned Women of America of Louisiana (CWALA) and its state director Laura Huber. .
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In response to Ivey, he indicated that the team would have found “a different result” if it had known about the allegations in Slusser’s cases, which were previously reported but not formally notified to LA Tech. .
“We received no notice prior to the matchup with San Jose State that a transgender athlete would be competing. Had we been notified; we would have worked toward a different outcome. I can assure you that our student would have a Providing a safe and equitable environment for athletes to compete and live out their dreams and ambitions is of the utmost importance to us,” Ivey wrote in an email to Huber obtained by Fox News Digital. .
McCray’s email response came after his team learned Fleming’s birth gender the next day.
“We weren’t informed of Blair Fleming’s situation until the night after the game against San Jose State, so we didn’t know how to prepare our team for it. It was also the first game of the season, and 1. And only every year match we don’t have any prepared scouting report about our opponent because there is no video available yet about the current season’s team and thus no research about their current players. While the revelation about Blair Fleming didn’t make national news until the fall 2024 season where it was widely broadcast, San Jose State’s opponents have missed games in previous years. Not wasted as it is this year,” McCray wrote.
McCray also said he believes the host team for the August Invitational, Cal State Fullerton, was also unaware of Fleming’s birth gender.
“The host team, Cal State Fullerton, did not inform us that a transgender student-athlete was competing with one of the invited teams in the tournament. I’m not even sure if they were informed before the competition. was, or if they found out afterwards like we did,” McCray wrote.
McCray also confirmed that the LA Tech players were kept in a separate and remote locker room from the San Jose State players.
“I’m not sure about the San Jose State locker room situation, but I do know that our team was segregated from the other two teams because our locker room was on the opposite side of the building from San Jose State and Cal State Fullerton. Both had a full weekend. [Aug. 30 to Aug. 31]” McCray wrote.
Louisiana becomes the 18th state in the United States to enact a state law banning trans inclusion in women’s sports in the summer of 2022.
That July, the state approved Justice in Women’s Sports Actwhich requires schools to “designate intercollegiate and intrascholastic athletic teams according to the biological sex of team members.” It defines “biological sex” as the sex recorded on a person’s birth certificate at the time of birth. It also clearly states that women’s designated teams are “not open to participation” by anyone whose birth certificate says male, specifically trans girls and women. Not included.
This law applies to public elementary, middle and high schools as well as public universities. It would also apply to any private school or university that receives public funds. The law also gives students and others the ability to sue schools that allow trans girls and women to play on women’s sports teams, and anyone who reports a school violating the law. Prevents counter-action.
LA Tech’s matchup against San Jose State took place in California, however, which has a law protecting trans inclusion in women’s sports.
Massey Petty, associate legislative strategist for America, provided commentary to Fox News Digital on the dialogue between LA Tech and the organization.
“Dozens of female athletes this fall have had to find out through news outlets that the organization has sacrificed their lives to backstab them. Ironically, administrators finally have to answer, and We support these girls when they go to court of law,” Petty said.
Slessor has since filed another lawsuit against the Mountain West, along with several other players in the conference, alleging the conference and San Jose State failed to protect female players amid Fleming’s ongoing involvement.
An emergency hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Denver. A judge will determine whether to issue an injunction that would disqualify San Jose State from the conference tournament and disqualify Fleming from future conference tournaments. The injunction also seeks to remove the losses from the records of the five teams that protested against SJSU for not competing.
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Colorado State University police behind the San Jose State University Spartans bench patrol Moby Arena during the NCAA Mountain West women’s volleyball game between the Spartans and the Colorado State Rams on Thursday, Oct. 03, 2024, in Fort Collins, Colo. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
San Jose State finished the regular season with a 14-5 record and a 12-5 conference record. Seven of its wins and six of its conference wins came against opposing teams amid controversy. Utah State and Boise State are in the tournament picture and could be potential opponents for San Jose State in Las Vegas. They have already suffered. Boise State conceded two losses after refusing to face Fleming earlier in the season.
A Mountain West spokesman told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that if San Jose State reaches the finals in an upcoming tournament, and their opponent in that game pulls out of protest, San Jose State will be crowned the conference champion. will be automatically recognized and automatically bid for the same. NCAA Tournament.
San Jose State has repeatedly defended Fleming’s presence on the team.
“All of our players comply with NCAA and Mountain West Conference policies and are eligible to play under those organizations’ rules. Members of our volleyball team have earned the right to compete, and we stand by them and their families. “We’re very disappointed that they’re being denied. We’re also proud of how they’ve handled these challenges in court,” a university spokesperson told Focus News Digital. said in a statement provided to
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