SJSU’s first women’s volleyball player didn’t know about a trans player, suggesting the game wouldn’t have happened

INTERMEDIATE: On August 30, the Louisiana Tech women’s volleyball team took the court in Fullerton, California, to open the season against San Jose State and Spartan senior Blaire Fleming at the annual Cal State Fullerton Invitational. Fleming, one of the top players in the entire Mountain West, is accused of being a trans and biological man in many cases.

Louisiana Tech volleyball coach Amber McCray confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that she and her team were unaware of the allegations when they played a game against San Jose State on Aug. 30. LA Tech lost in straight sets as Fleming led the match with 14 kills and 29 total attacks.

A San Jose State spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the Northern California university did not formally notify opponents of its volleyball program of the situation involving the original lawsuit and its substance after it was filed in September. The game between San Jose State and LA Tech took place before the first inning, amid few reports of the situation from multiple media outlets.

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The first court documents claiming Fleming is a trans athlete were filed in late September when teammate Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA over its gender identity and eligibility policies. Slusser alleges that San Jose State made an effort to hide Fleming’s sexuality from Slusser and other players since Fleming transferred to the school in 2022. Slusser says she shared changing rooms and a bedroom with Fleming without knowing that information.

When asked if San Jose State notified LA Tech of the situation involving Fleming and the players’ complaints before the initial filing, a San Jose State spokesperson noted that Slusser did not join the lawsuit until September. That spokesman declined to confirm whether any notice had been given to LA Tech about the situation before then.

However, that spokesperson confirmed that San Jose State has been contacting all campuses the team visits for away games to coordinate security. Police protection was assigned to the group in early October amid allegations of threats to Slusser’s welfare, Fox News Digital previously reported. Those security efforts include coordinating backup from other police departments when the team leaves.

News of the original lawsuit and the controversy surrounding Fleming’s presence on the team spread and resulted in a total of seven forfeits from five different teams in the San Jose State program.

But LA Tech’s head volleyball coach and athletic director says the team didn’t have the information to make an informed decision about whether to drop them. Instead, McCray said the team found out the next day through word of mouth from parents who heard the rumours.

McCray and LA Tech athletic director Ryan Ivey first addressed their lack of knowledge about the situation in an email response to a letter from The Concerned Women of America of Louisiana (CWALA) and State Director Laura Hubber.

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In Ivey’s response, he stated that the team would have sought a “different outcome” if they had known about Slusser’s alleged accusations, which had been previously reported but not officially reported to LA Tech.

“We received no notice prior to the game against San Jose State that a transgender athlete would be competing. Had we been notified; we would have worked for a different outcome. I can assure you that providing a safe and equal environment for our female student-athletes to compete and live their dreams and aspirations is very important to us,” he wrote. Ivey in an email from Ivey to Huber obtained by Fox News Digital.

McCray’s email response recounted when his team learned the gender of Fleming’s birth the next day.

“We weren’t informed of Blair Fleming’s condition until the night after our game against San Jose State, so there was no information about the need to fix this for our team. It was the first game of the season, and the only one. And it’s the same every year. currently on the team for the current season and therefore no research on their current players While the public disclosure of Blair Fleming came in April 2024, of course it did not make national news when it was widely broadcast until this Fall 2024 season, which is why San Jose State’s opponents have not lost games in years last year as they did this year,” McCray wrote.

McCray also said he believed the team that held the August invitation, Cal State Fullerton, didn’t even know Fleming’s birth gender.

“The host team Cal State Fullerton did not tell us that a transgender student-athlete was competing against one of the teams invited to the tournament. I’m also not sure if they were notified before the tournament, or found out afterward like we did,” McCray wrote.

McCray also made sure the LA Tech players were kept in a room separate and away from the San Jose State players.

“I’m not sure about the state of the San Jose State locker room, but I do know that our team was separated from both other teams as our locker room was on the opposite side of the building from both San Jose State and Cal State Fullerton all weekend. [Aug. 30 to Aug. 31],” McCray wrote.

Louisiana became the 18th state in the US to enact a state law to ban the inclusion of women’s sports in the summer of 2022.

This July, the state passed the Fair Women’s Sports Act, which requires schools to “designate intercollegiate and interscholastic athletic teams based on the natural gender of team members.” It defines “natural sex” as the gender listed on a person’s birth certificate at the time of their birth. It also clearly states that women’s groups are “not open to participation” by anyone with a male birth certificate, excluding girls and women.

The law applies to public elementary, middle and high schools, as well as public universities. It will also apply to any private school or university that receives public funds. The law also gives students and others the power to sue schools that allow trans girls and women to play on women’s sports teams, and prohibits disciplinary action against anyone who reports a school violation.

LA Tech’s game against San Jose State took place in California, however, where there is a law protecting trans inclusion at women’s games.

Concerned American Women legal strategist Macy Petty provided comments to Fox News Digital on the conversation between LA Tech and the organization.

“A lot of female athletes in this fall had to find out in the press that the institution they sacrificed their whole lives for backstabbed. Some of them, like LA Tech, didn’t even know until after they entered the competition. Finally the powerful management must answer, and we support these girls as they take it to court legal, that is,” Petty said.

Slusser has filed another lawsuit against the Mountain West and is joined by several other players in the conference in accusing the conference and San Jose State of failing to protect women’s runners during Fleming’s ongoing coverage.

An emergency hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Denver. The judge will decide whether to grant an injunction that would disqualify San Jose State from the conference tournament and disqualify Fleming from the upcoming conference tournament. The order seeks to remove losses from the records of the five teams protesting non-competes with SJSU.

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Colorado State University police officers behind the San Jose State University Spartans bench guard Moby Arena during the NCAA Mountain West women’s volleyball game between the Spartans and the Colorado State Rams in Fort Collins, Colo., Thursday, Oct. 03, 2024. (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 victories have come by forfeit against opposing teams amid the controversy. Utah State and Boise State are in the championship picture and could be rivals for San Jose State in Las Vegas. They have already lost. Boise State accepted two losses after refusing to tackle Fleming earlier in the season.

A spokesperson for the Mountain West told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that if San Jose State reaches the finals in the upcoming tournament, and their opponents in that game lose a game, that San Jose State will be recognized as the conference champions and receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

San Jose State has repeatedly defended Fleming’s presence on the team.

“All of our athletes comply with NCAA and Mountain West Conference policy and are eligible to play under the rules of those organizations. Members of our volleyball team have earned the right to compete, and we are deeply disappointed with them and with them that they are being denied. Those opportunities are being denied and lost. We are proud of how they have persevered through these challenges. in court,” said a statement provided to Fox News Digital by a university spokesperson.

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