SJSU transgender volleyball player Blaire Fleming’s college career may be over after a championship loss
He drew the curtain.
San Jose State volleyball player Blaire Fleming likely played the last college volleyball game of her career after losing in the Mountain West Tournament final to Colorado State on Saturday night.
Fleming led the Spartans on a run to the championship game in a senior season marred by accusations from teammates and national controversy over Fleming’s transgender status. Fleming led the team in spikes and inspired four Mountain West opponents to lose a total of seven conference games, including the tournament semifinals.
But Colorado State didn’t give up on playing Fleming or the Spartans.
The Rams played San Jose twice in the regular season, splitting the season series, and taking the championship game three sets to one. Colorado State’s Malaya Jones, the Mountain West player of the year, led the game with 26 kills after kneeling during the pregame national anthem.
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Blair Fleming of the San Jose State Spartans reacts during the second set against the Air Force Falcons on Falcon Court in the East Gym Oct. 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
Jones was also accused of conspiring with Fleming to throw the ball into the face of San Jose State teammate Brooke Slusser in a game on Oct. 3, according to the lawsuit filed by Slusser and the Title IX complaint.
Slusser was not hit in the face, and Mountain West ended the investigation with a Title IX complaint, saying it did not find enough evidence of wrongdoing. Slusser’s attorney questioned the authenticity of the investigation.
Meanwhile, Fleming led San Jose State in the match with 17 kills but committed nine unforced errors in the first two sets as the Spartans fell from a two-set deficit to one.
A loss to San Jose State would also mean it would not advance to the NCAA tournament, which would introduce another controversy by facing teams from outside the conference. Boise State lost its Mountain West Tournament semifinal game against San Jose State, which could set a precedent for teams in other states with laws banning transgender inclusion in women’s sports.
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Boise State, Utah State, Wyoming, Nevada and non-conference foe Southern Utah all lost regular-season games against San Jose State this season amid controversy. Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech, which played its season opener against San Jose State on August 30, told Fox News Digital that it did not know Fleming was gay and suggested the game would not have happened if the team had known.
The situation was widely publicized, and Fleming’s presence in the party drew criticism from President-elect Trump during the recent election campaign.
Trump weighed in on the situation involving Fleming during a town hall event on Fox News Channel’s “The Faulkner Focus” Oct. 17. Trump referenced Fleming directly, describing a video where one of the athletes hit another player.
“I saw a slam. It was a slam. I’ve never seen a ball hit so hard, it hit a girl in the head,” Trump said. “But some people even in volleyball have been playing it forever, I mean they’ve been hurt really bad. Women playing men. But you don’t have to play volleyball. We stop it. We stop it. You can never stop it.
Trump has revealed his intention to ban transgender inclusion in women’s sports if elected. It was a speech that guaranteed to cover every campaign from then until Election Day. He and his Republican allies strengthened the Democrats’ position to protect transgender inclusion, which had grown unpopular.
A state judge could have ended Fleming’s career early but decided to allow the player to compete in the conference tournament.
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Federal Judge Kato Crews of Colorado, who was appointed by President Biden in January, rejected a motion to acquit the college volleyball players who challenged the convention.
The players were looking to lose their money for refusing to play with Fleming and the Spartans were disqualified, which will change the standings going into the tournament. They also wanted Fleming banned from the tournament.
However, Crews wrote that the plaintiffs’ request for an emergency delay was “unwarranted” and “would risk confusion and extend months of planning and would prejudice, at the very least, (San Jose State) and other teams participating in the tournament.”
Despite the charges, Slusser and the rest of the San Jose State roster took the court with Fleming for games throughout the season.
Fleming was second in the conference in kills per set at .386, well behind Jones, who led the way at .457.
Fleming had his signature moment in the second-to-last game of the season against No. 1 Colorado State at home on Big Day. Fleming led the game with 24 kills and a perfect match and won the fifth set with a match point ace.
Immediately after the game, Fleming was surrounded by cheering teammates. Even Slusser got involved. The team’s celebration came just days after Slusser and other Mountain West players filed a second lawsuit over Fleming’s presence on the team against San Jose State and the conference.
Now, Fleming, Slusser and the rest of their senior teammates will look ahead to their post-volleyball lives.
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