'Concerned Women For America' Add Serious Pressure To SJSU Over Trans Player With Civil Rights Complaint
The Concerned Women for America (CWA) organization is mounting serious pressure on San Jose State and schools slated to compete against the Spartans with a new civil rights complaint highlighting the dangers of pitting female athletes against trans players, along with allowing trans players to infiltrate women's athletics.
The CWA's proactive effort is a clear response to the inclusion of male athlete Brayden "Blaire" Fleming on the San Jose State women's volleyball team.
Fleming is a 6-foot-1 male competitor, fit with considerable strength advantages.
CWA Files Formal Complaint, Highlighting Dangers of Trans Inclusion At SJSU
CWA filed its federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) focusing on San Jose State University — holding them accountable for "willful violations of Title IX in women’s volleyball."
Blaire Fleming Continues To Dominate Women's Volleyball (CREDIT: SJSU Athletics)
((CREDIT: SJSU Athletics))
There have been numerous cases where a trans athlete was allowed to play, only for ramifications to follow and affect both female competitors and teammates.
READ THE FULL CIVIL COMPLAINT HERE
Beyond the on-court hazards, women are threatened by sharing locker rooms with transgender athletes, many of whom maintain male genitalia.
The formal complaints highlighted, "the detriment of current and future female student-athletes nationwide, it is ongoing."
"Women’s sports must be for women only," CWA CEO and President Penny Nance said in an announcement. "The sexual exploitation of female athletes in their own sports must stop."
READ: Boise State Women’s Volleyball Forfeits Upcoming Match Against SJSU, Trans Player Blaire Fleming
While framed as a political talking point by progressives, concern has also arisen within SJSU.
San Jose State women's volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser joined ICONS' lawsuit against the NCAA to emphasize that the concern goes beyond politics and is, most importantly, a real issue for women directly involved in this matter.
OutKick's Amber Harding Snyder had an exclusive talk with Slusser, which you can read here.
Brave Women Are Stepping Up To Kick Men Out of Their Sports, As It Should Be
The fight to save women's sports continues, with more developments occurring as courageous individuals, such as the team at CWA and spokesperson Macy Petty, take a stand.
READ: Utah State Cancels Volleyball Match Against San Jose State, Transgender Player Blaire Fleming
Petty shared CWA's letter with OutKick and spoke to me about her team's efforts to hold the people at SJSU, the NCAA and all competing teams accountable.
Utah State Volleyball opts out of competition against trans athlete Blaire Fleming. (Utah State Athletics)
Petty, who previously competed in women's collegiate volleyball and has first-hand experience with playing against a man, emphasized the organization's efforts to note the dangers of allowing trans athletes to compete against women and the accountability that must follow.
CWA previously took action with a civil rights complaint when Lia Thomas, a man, was allowed to compete against women, including OutKick's Riley Gaines.
Thankfully, Petty and other women's efforts have not gone to waste.
And the impact of these brave women's voices became evident quickly.
On Wednesday, Utah State became the fourth school to withdraw from the competition against San Jose State and Blaire Fleming.
Despite remaining silent on their reasoning for forfeiting, all four schools — Southern Utah, the University of Wyoming, Boise State and Utah State — have been made aware of the increasing concern with protecting their female athletes by opting NOT to compete against SJSU.
Utah State withdrew from the match, which was still weeks away.
Petty brought this point to light — also highlighted in CWA's complaint to SJSU and competing schools in the Mountain West Conference — with a post on her X account; coincidentally, hours before Utah State backed out of its match.
The pressure is on.
"Female athletes are already taking to the courts," Petty posted on X.
She added, "Schools are knowingly placing them at an increased risk of injury if they place them on a court with a man. If not for the safety of the girls, maybe schools will at least opt out to protect their pockets."
Utah State made its announcement before removing the statement from its website:
The statement read, "Utah State University will not participate in its scheduled October 23, 2024, volleyball match at San Jose State University. The University will abide by Mountain West Conference policy regarding how this match is recorded."
Holding People Accountable For This Mistake
With their forfeitures, Southern Utah, Wyoming, Boise State and now Utah State are all accepting losses in their records.
Is it worth it? In the name of protecting women, it certainly is.
However, the women at SJSU are cheated out of an opportunity to compete despite enjoying an undefeated record that is pumped up with every forfeiture.
As OutKick's Dan Zaksheske wrote on Wednesday, the Mountain West Conference has an increasing issue as more schools unite over this common-sense cause.
The conference may hide behind the NCAA's transgender student-athlete participation policy, but the policy is not mandatory.
Schools willingly competing against SJSU — as well as the Spartans' administration, who allow Fleming to take the court and share the women's locker room — act oblivious to this clause and deliberately put their women in danger.
CWA's Penny Nance also mentioned that the inclusion of trans athletes has been nothing more than a "social experiment" with real-world crises — more of them waiting to transpire.
Colorado State, set to face off against SJSU (barring new developments), committed to play against Fleming and the Spartans on Thursday night under the guise of diversity.
Cowardice in not holding these schools accountable still exists.
CWA, along with Macy Petty, continues to do its part to call this out before more women fall victim to this fake title of inclusion.
READ CWA's CIVIL COMPLAINT
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