University Turns On Its Women’s Team Over Refusal To Play Against Trans-Identifying Athlete

University of Nevada, Reno, is facing backlash over its refusal to support its women’s volleyball team, which had announced it would not be playing against San Jose State University’s women’s team because of its trans-identifying male player.

It started when the UNR women’s volleyball team released a statement that made it the fifth university to forfeit its game against SJSU because the California school’s team’s star player is a male.

“We, the University of Nevada Reno women’s volleyball team, forfeit against @SJSU and stand united in solidarity with the volleyball teams of Southern Utah University, Boise State University, the University of Wyoming, & Utah State University,” the statement read in part, as previously reported.

The statement included that the girls demanded “that our right to safety and fair competition on the court be upheld. We refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes.”

INSANE response from @unevadareno after the women’s volleyball team decided to forfeit their match against SJSU.

This is the intimidation & emotional blackmail that girls face when they stand up for themselves.

Hold the line girls, @NevadaWVB. We’re all behind you! BOYcott https://t.co/9n9wsoaqHt pic.twitter.com/k8JQPL8aEQ

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) October 14, 2024

Later, the university released a statement showing it did not support the move by the women’s team, saying that the school is about “providing an inclusive and supportive environment,” claiming the prior statement was made “independently and without consultation” of the school.

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The university also claimed that the school is governed by a law which protects “the equality of rights under the law,” which includes things like race, sexual orientation, “gender identity or expression.” It ends with a statement that the match on October 26 will still happen and those girls who wish not to play can do so without any disciplinary action.

Former collegiate swimmer and outspoken advocate for women’s sports Riley Gaines slammed the response by the university, first sharing the statement and then calling it “INSANE.”

“This is the intimidation [and] emotional blackmail that girls face when they stand up for themselves,” Gaines wrote.

“Hold the line girls, @NevadaWVB. We’re all behind you! BOYcott,” she added.

Megyn Kelly of “The Megyn Kelly Show” podcast also reposted the article about the girls refusing to play and threw her support to them after they lost the university’s support.

“A 5th team forfeits in D1 collegiate women’s volleyball rather than play against a team w/a male player,” Kelly wrote.

“This, as their own school turns on them, content to endanger them by pressuring them to play,” she added. “The girls aren’t having it. GOOD FOR THEM.”

Related: Fourth University Women’s Team Refuses To Play Against Trans-Identifying Male