Whether or not college sports should allow transgender players has been a controversial issue for decades. However, the issue is being brought to light due to one of San Jose State University’s women’s volleyball players. This player identifies as a woman but is biologically a man. Her name is Blaire Fleming.
5 college women’s volleyball teams in the Mountain West Athletic Conference have forfeited against San Jose State University due to player Blaire Fleming. After San Jose’s game against San Diego State, a San Diego State player got brutally smashed in the face by a ball hit by Blaire Fleming. This struck controversy on the internet. The average speed of a spike in women’s volleyball is 15.5 to 16.1 m/s, and it is estimated that Blaire was hitting at around 80 m/s.
In the state of California, transgender athletes can legally participate in the sport of the gender they identify with. The same rule applies to athletes in the Mountain West Athletic Conference. The NCAA rule pertaining to transgender athletes says that the athlete must have specific testosterone levels based on the sport. The athlete also needs documented levels at the beginning of the season and six months after. They will also need documentation 4 weeks before selection for the championships. This means that legally Blaire Fleming is allowed to play on the San Jose women’s volleyball team.
The issue at hand is whether she should be able to play ethically. No teams in the conference as well as other San Jose players were informed that Blaire is biologically male, and this is where things took a downhill spiral. Teams in the conference felt like they should have been informed of Blaire’s biological identity. Blaire Fleming’s roommate and co-captain of the volleyball team, Brooke Slusser, filed a lawsuit against Blaire as she felt that Blaire should not have been allowed to play. Brooke even expressed her support to the teams that forfeited on social media. Brooke Slusser tweeted, “Round of applause to the girls of @NevadaWolfPack volleyball team. Deciding to go against what the school was forcing on you as a young women and taking a stand for what you believe in takes courage! Another great step in the right direction for women’s sports!” Brooke’s lawyer says that Blaire is posing a threat because her physicality overpowers the other girls on the court.
Although I do not agree that Blaire should be allowed to play among biological women, I also do not agree with the treatment she is receiving. As an athlete, your teammates become your friends, your support system, and your family, so imagine the pain that Blaire is facing as her teammate and roommate, and on top of all that, the co-captain of the team is filing a lawsuit against her. Not only is Blair being treated like a social pariah by her former team, but she is also receiving extreme backlash from the media. Riley Gaines, host of Outkick’s podcast ‘Gaines For Girls’ tweeted, “If you’re wondering why teams are forfeiting against @SJSU, here’s the reason. Last night another woman was smashed in the face by a kill from a man posing as a woman. It’s unfair, unsafe, and regressive, yet our ‘leaders’ remain silent.” This tweet is extremely offensive. Saying nasty comments about someone, despite your beliefs, is never okay.
I do believe that transgender athletes should play with the gender they were born with, not what they identify with. Women’s sports have come a long way, and women 100% deserve to celebrate every milestone the female sports industry has hit. However, I believe that transgender athletes are deserving of a chance to experience those very same progressions. One thing that Riley Gaines said about Blaire Fleming’s participation was that it’s regressive. Brooke Slusser called this a “great step in the right direction for women’s sports.” I completely agree with both of these statements. Biological males should not play on women’s sports teams, and women have earned their right to fair sports after years of oppression, but it is extremely regressive that after all those years of fighting, athletes fail to lend a helping hand to transgender athletes.
Women’s sports were recognized by the NCAA only 43 years ago in 1981. Women not only know but understand the struggles of oppression in the sports industry, and it is absolutely shocking that in 2024, instead of showing support to another group of athletes being denied the ability to play the sport they love, women athletes are shutting them out. Transgender sporting leagues need to be formed so every athlete has a fair chance to play and women athletes, of all people, have the opportunity to help fight for transgender rights.
