San Jose State Brags About Blaire Fleming's Success, But Won't Let You Call Them Out For Their Hypocrisy
The San Jose State Spartans really, really want you to know that they have a solid women’s volleyball team. But the reasons why are not entirely admirable.
The Spartans have experienced an historic year, starting the season with a program-best 7-0 record and dropping only four sets out of the 25 that they’ve played all year (an impressive stretch, no doubt). However, a lot of their success can be attributed to the fact that they have a transgender (biological male) player on the team, and his name is Blaire Fleming.
But the Spartans don’t care about the fact that they are ignoring biological reality and making a mockery of women’s sports. They are downright proud of the fact that a man is giving them a distinct advantage over their opponents, and posted about it after a three-sets-to-none win over the University of San Francisco on Thursday.
Now please know that the Spartans are not bragging about being a top-10 team in the nation in the actual rankings. In fact, they didn’t even get a single vote to be in the top-25 in the most recent poll, which was released on Monday. They are talking about being a top-10 team in the nation in blocks per set at 3.00 (they are tied with UTEP for ninth).
However, even that level of success is marred by Fleming’s presence in the team.
The tweet mentioned that Fleming recorded two blocks in the three-set win. According to my source (which is my sister, who played D2 volleyball as a right-side hitter), that’s about a normal pace for a game of that length. Overall, he is averaging 0.72 blocks per set, which is fifth among players who have played all 25 sets like him.
Read: EXCLUSIVE: Southern Utah Refuses To Play San Jose State Volleyball, Which Has Transgender Player
You might think that means that Fleming’s impact on the Spartans’ success is minimal, but that’s not the case. Even if he isn’t the biggest reason why San Jose State is a top-tier blocking team in America, he is significantly contributing to their offensive output. Fleming has the second-most total kills on the team (91) and kills per set rate (3.64) on the team.
No matter how you slice it, Fleming is making a significant impact for the Spartans - when he shouldn’t be (and the Spartans even bragged about it in the post). San Jose State’s willingness to brag about it is not only confusing, but shameful.
(Oh, by the way, did you catch how the school disabled comments on this tweet? It's almost like it knows it is trying to gain an unfair advantage, but doesn't want to be called out for it).
The Spartans’ next game is against Saint Mary’s tomorrow night at 8 p.m. EST, and OutKick’s Alejandro Avila will be reporting from the matchup. Stay tuned for any coverage coming from that game.