By Sarah Holliday
The Washington Stand
The Mountain West Conference (MW), a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA, was dragged into the limelight a few months ago. Not necessarily because of riveting competition, but because of what many have flagged as unfair competition. Within the realm of volleyball, controversy has reigned supreme after it became clear that among the women on the San Jose State University (SJSU) volleyball team is a biological male. The fight that started with a few volleyball teams quickly evolved to others joining with a shared concern over the safety of women. And now, it’s turned into a legal battle.
A dozen concerned women filed a lawsuit against the MW on Wednesday. According to OutKick, “They allege violations of Title IX and of their First Amendment rights, all stemming from the presence of transgender player Blaire Fleming on the San Jose State roster.” The lawsuit takes special notice of the conference’s “Transgender Participation Policy,” which they stated was meant to “chill and suppress the free speech rights of women athletes.”
This case goes back to when Southern Utah University (SUU) became the first to refuse competition against SJSU. It didn’t take long, however, for other schools to join the movement to promote fairness in women’s sports. In fact, a total of five schools have reportedly boycotted the inclusion of a male player on a female team. Alongside SUU stands Boise State University (BSU), the University of Wyoming (UW), Utah State University (USU), and the University of Nevada Reno (UNR). But the story doesn’t end there.
Earlier this month, SJSU assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose addressed the debate on whether Fleming should be a part of their team. On edge about the circumstances, she chose to file a Title IX complaint on behalf of the girls on the SJSU team who were uncomfortable with Fleming’s participation. The complaint included the claim that the SJSU girls were not notified that a transgender-identifying man would be joining them. Batie-Smoose also integrated the allegations that Fleming worked to manipulate the outcome of a previous match. And even though the university claims to take “all reports and complaints seriously,” it appeared that only after a few days of consideration, the school decided to suspend the assistant coach indefinitely.
Despite the punishment, Batie-Smoose has continued to speak out on the issue. “Safety is being taken away from women,” she shared on “America’s Newsroom.” “Fair play is taken away from women. We need more and more people to do this and fight this fight because women’s sports, as we know it right now, will be forever changed.”
Up until recently, SJSU appeared to have a notable winning streak — although many have pointed out that much of it was due to the six forfeits that have worked in the team’s favor. However, last weekend, the San Diego State University’s (SDSU) women’s volleyball team managed to beat SJSU. But the excitement from this game was not limited to the victory as it was accompanied by Save Women’s Sports protesters holding signs in the bleachers opposing Fleming’s involvement. Additionally, the game allegedly entailed some injuries that may be connected to some of Fleming’s plays as well as poor sportsmanship from both teams on the court. According to The College Fix, there was “a lot of tension in the air … [including] a moment when the ref had to talk to the team captains about trash talk.”
This all amounts to a small fraction of the largescale debate on whether trans-identifying athletes should be able to compete in women’s sports. The movement of people who want to protect women from the biological advantages men have over them have been pushing hard against the involuntary co-mingling. Macy Petty, the legislative strategist at Concerned Women for America (CWA), explained to The Washington Stand how this is why the lawsuit filed by the female volleyball players is the right next step.
“This lawsuit is forcing accountability for Mountain West Conference’s reckless actions,” she underscored. “They betrayed these women, robbing them of safety, privacy, and a fair season to compete on behalf of their school. They abandoned any commitments to the athlete’s well-being by placing political agendas over common sense and safety. The dominos are falling, and they must answer for their actions.”
According to Petty, it’s possible the MW or NCAA wasn’t expecting these girls to stand up for themselves by pursuing legal action. But as she put it, “Rather than be the political pawns the NCAA intended them to be, these women are paving the way of a bold, unapologetic defense of truth. They refuse to forfeit their athletic success and personal dignity to passivity, [and] we can all learn a lesson from their bravery.”
“The universities associated also have a responsibility to promote fair and safe play for the female athletes,” Petty concluded. “We hope they take the right action in supporting their female athletes as they take to the courts.”
Originally published at The Washington Stand!
