San Jose State ‘disappointed’ by Boise State’s refusal to play against transgender athlete

San Jose State University said it was “disappointed” after Boise State dropped out of the end-of-season women’s volleyball championship rather than play the Spartans, whose team features a biological male.

After winning its first-round match Wednesday, Boise State shook the women’s sports world by forfeiting its Friday semifinal against SJSU in the Mountain West Conference tournament, ending the Broncos’ season and quest for the championship.

San Jose State, which now advances to the Saturday final, made no public reference to the outcry over Blaire Fleming, a male-to-female transgender athlete who has been on the team since 2022 and led the Spartans this year in regular-season points.

“In this time of Thanksgiving, we are especially thankful for those who continue to engage in civil and respectful discourse,” said San Jose State in a Thursday statement.

“We celebrate and support all of our students, including our student-athletes as they compete for our community on this holiday weekend. While we are disappointed in Boise State’s decision, our women’s volleyball team is preparing for Saturday’s match and looks forward to competing for a championship,” the university added.

Meanwhile, Sen. Jim Risch, Idaho Republican, blasted the conference for letting male-born players compete in women’s sports.

“The @MountainWest has failed our Boise State women’s volleyball team. These women have worked too hard for too long to be denied their right to fair, safe competition,” he posted Thursday on X. “We must fight to protect women’s sports.”

The @MountainWest has failed our Boise State women’s volleyball team. These women have worked too hard for too long to be denied their right to fair, safe competition. We must fight to protect women’s sports. https://t.co/KIqHyOIdAu

— Jim Risch (@SenatorRisch) November 28, 2024

Four teams, including Boise State, canceled regular-season games against San Jose State. The forfeits were counted as losses for the forfeiting teams and wins for the Spartans under the conference’s Transgender Participation Policy.

San Jose State, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, will face the winner of Friday’s semifinal match between Colorado State and San Diego State. The event is in Las Vegas.