Utah State Cancels Volleyball Match Against San Jose State, Transgender Player Blaire Fleming
The Mountain West Conference has a big problem on its hands, thanks to the San Jose State volleyball team, which has transgender player Blaire Fleming.
Last week, Boise State forfeited its conference match rather than compete against SJSU and Fleming. Then, on Tuesday, Wyoming followed suit.
Now, Utah State has joined the schools that refuse to play against San Jose State.
The university announced via its official website on Wednesday that it would not play against San Jose State, even though the match is still three weeks away.
"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," the statement read.
UPDATE: After this story was published, the statement on the school's website was removed. OutKick has reached out to Utah State for clarification and will update when we have more information.
SECOND UPDATE: A source tells OutKick that San Jose State University's President asked Utah State to remove the statement for now, but Utah State is not reversing course on the decision to forfeit the match.
THIRD UPDATE: The statement is back up on the Utah State University website as of Thursday afternoon.
Utah State women's volleyball announced that it will forfeit its October 23 match against San Jose State, which has transgender player Blaire Fleming.
(Utah State University Athletics)
The first school to refuse to play a match against San Jose State was Southern Utah, but that was a non-conference match that simply went down as a cancelation.
The conference told OutKick at the time that it did not have "jurisdiction" over non-conference games.
But the Mountain West Conference policy says that when conference opponents cancel matches, they are ruled as forfeits.
That means that San Jose State, which has faced only one conference opponent this season – a win over Fresno State on September 24, which improved SJSU's record to 9-0 – is now 4-0 in conference play.
OutKick reached out to San Jose State after the Wyoming announcement, and it sent us a statement.
"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," the school told OutKick via email.
"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."
Utah State women's volleyball announced that it will forfeit its October 23 match against San Jose State – the fourth team to cancel a match against SJSU this season – because of transgender player Blaire Fleming (pictured, foreground).
(San Jose State University Athletics)
The Mountain West, which did not respond to a request for comment after the Wyoming forfeit on Tuesday, did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday.
Previously, the conference told OutKick that "the Mountain West Board of Directors would have to determine if they wanted to change current procedures" if more forfeits were to happen.
At the time, only one conference team had forfeited – Boise State. As much as the conference has tried to delay making any decisions, the forfeits are now piling up, and they are under immense pressure to say, or do … well, anything.
The conference tournament is scheduled for the end of November and San Jose State has the inside track to be the top seed in the tournament, despite picking up multiple wins via forfeit.
As of now, San Jose State is scheduled to face Colorado State on Thursday night. Will the match go on as planned?
The ball is in the Mountain West's court. Will it handle the situation properly or, instead, spike it directly into the net?
Stay tuned.