Despite Major Backlash, Trans Volleyball Athlete Gains Community’s Backing Ahead of SJSU’s Upcoming Game: “Isn’t Destroying the League”

San Jose State University has found itself in the firing line with questions raised over the inclusion of Blaire Fleming, a transgender female, on their volleyball team. Fleming has been at the receiving end of fan backlash, with former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines a vocal critic. She slammed SJSU for not revealing that Fleming was a trans athlete and mocked the team’s recent win with a “man” jibe at the player.

A week after Gaines’ September 7 post on X, Southern Utah canceled their match with SJSU. Boise State volleyball followed suit for their September 28 face-off. Now, it has been reported that the University of Wyoming women’s volleyball team is considering dropping their October 5 game.

Fleming has been significantly contributing to the Spartans’ success this season. The athlete has the second-most total kills on the team (91) behind teammate Nayeli Ti’a’s 135 kills. She’s also slightly behind on total and solo blocks as well as block assists. With this impact, the player and the University have faced intense backlash with even the NCAA feeling the heat.

The Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) is leading the Title IX lawsuit against the NCAA, with Riley Gaines already having filed in March. Gaines argued the NCAA had violated Title IX by allowing trans athlete Lia Thomas to compete in 2022.

Fleming spent several years at Coastal Carolina before transferring to San Jose State. She got into the news due to her hard-hitting spikes. Macy Petty – an NCAA volleyball player who is also a legislative assistant for the Concerned Women of America expressed her outrage at the NCAA and SJSU for allowing Fleming to compete. She said, “We’re asking these schools to be proactive on this issue and simply say if there is a boy on the other team, we’re not going to play. We’re not going to jeopardize our female athletes, we’re not going to jeopardize their safety and dignity. We’re simply not playing, we’re not going to do this game and have to make our female athletes suffer that burden.”

The CWA sent letters to schools informing them that Blaire Fleming, a transgender woman, was on the opposing roster. Troubles for Fleming and SJSU didn’t end here. After their win over Fresno State, the team tweeted on September 25 about their 9-0 start to the season, highlighting Fleming’s role with 16 kills. However, it caught the attention of Gaines, who tweeted, “It’s probably not overly difficult to be 9-0 when you have a man on your team lol.”

Activist Beth Bourne, who is also the Moms for Liberty Yolo County chair, also took a shot at Fleming after the Spartans’ win over Santa Clara. In a tweet on September 15, she noted, “Today’s news. Santa Clara Univ @scuvolleybal loses to the team with a male athlete @SanJoseStateVB.”

ICONS meanwhile also sent a letter to Mountain West Conference School. It called out the conference president for failing to “act immediately and decisively to protect and support women volleyball players and their rights to equal athletic opportunities and fair and safe competition.” However, amidst, the backlash, many fans in the volleyball community have offered their support to Fleming on social media. This comes after another significant development involving Fleming’s teammate Brooke Slusser.

The volleyball community addresses the two central issues as Fleming’s teammate joins the lawsuit

Fleming’s teammate, Brooke Slusser, joined the lawsuit against the NCAA, raising the issue of player safety. The Cowboy State Daily reported that in her lawsuit, Slusser mentioned Fleming was spiking the balls, “faster than she had ever seen a woman hit a volleyball. The girls were doing everything they could to dodge Fleming’s spikes but still could not fully protect themselves.”

However, one fan quoted the volleyball athlete and countered her argument. “Brooke estimates that Fleming’s spikes were traveling upward of 80 mph, which was faster than she had ever seen a woman hit a volleyball,” the fan quoted. However, they didn’t agree with the athlete’s take. “Yeah, that’s a pretty ridiculous lie. That would put it up there with the fastest spikes from top international men ever,” added the Redditor.

Slusser also claimed she was not aware that Fleming was transgender and that she was forced to share rooms on team trips. Her attorney Bill Bock, told OutKick, “One thing that’s important in this case is really the physical safety issues in volleyball. And that’s what they’re facing in practice every day. So, it’s just a crazy, misguided policy that steals athletic dreams from women and gives them to men, and, at the same time, puts women’s health and safety in danger.”

The other concern was that Fleming carried an athletic advantage as a biological male. They used the athlete’s above-average 6’1 frame as an anchor for their argument. However, the Redditors argued against the analogy.

“Watch some of the highlights of this player. They aren’t significantly stronger than the rest of the team, and are well below the strength and power of the top collegiate players. This player has been playing on girls’ and women’s teams for years, and it has never been an issue until now. As a fifth-year senior, she’s actually been good,” stated one user.

One user also didn’t agree with complaints about player safety, noting, “There is definitely some competitive advantage, but to suggest they are forfeiting for the ‘safety of their players’ unfortunately comes off hateful. I play coed with 6’4+ men full swinging and the women pass it better than the men do,” the individual recalled from their personal experience.

With two teams dropping their games against SJSU, concerns are mounting about what comes next. ICONS has already called Mountain West to take action against SJSU and it is not sure which teams will forfeit their games next. According to one Reddit user, the decision to forfeit games has less to do with player safety and is more about taking a stand.

“I do think this issue could reach a serious point of contention if a very muscular/tall transgender athlete comes in and actually ‘dominates’ the competition, but if you watch the videos of the team playing they dropped 2 sets to Santa Clara who only had 2 set wins prior. This player isn’t destroying the league at all. Could someone else come along that does? Sure… but two universities forfeiting their games to ‘ensure the safety of their players’ is just an excuse to stir the pot and make a stand,” the Reddit user argued.

Fans continued to question the alleged physical advantage Fleming, with one fan writing, “Watch some of the highlights of this player. They aren’t significantly stronger than the rest of the team, and are well below the strength and power of the top collegiate players. This player has been playing on girls’ and women’s teams for years, and it has never been an issue until now. As a fifth-year senior, she’s actually been good,” argued the fan.

As of this moment, Fleming has not released any statement on teams forfeiting games, but SJSU did release a statement on October 1.

In a statement to OutKick, SJSU responded to the backlash over its player saying, “It is disappointing that our SJSU student athletes, who are in full compliance with NCAA and Mountain West rules and regulations, are being denied opportunities to compete. We are committed to supporting our student-athletes through these challenges and in their ability to compete in an inclusive, fair, safe and respectful environment.”

Another fan quoted gastroenterologist Dr. Laura Targownik’s post on X. “If there were a player with the exact same physicality and skill set as Blaire, but who was presumed [to have XX chromosomes], would she fall so far outside the expected range of athleticism of college-level athletes that other teams would refuse to play against her? I strongly suspect there are many elite female players in college right now who jump as high and or hit as hard as she does.” 

The Reddit user also highlighted how, despite Fleming’s 6’1 stature, she isn’t the tallest Spartan. “And went through HRT to the point where she had to be outed in court. It’s not like she’s dominating the entire sport,” the fan added. While UW has promised to play against SJSU on October 5, things could escalate if they pull out at the last moment. However, it’s also clear that amidst the backlash, Blaire Fleming has found support.

Update: Ahead of its October 5 game, the University of Wyoming announced on Tuesday that has decided to forfeit its game against San Jose State. This makes it the third game to be forfeited against SJSU in recent weeks.