The women’s volleyball team at the University of Nevada, Reno forfeited its Saturday match against California’s San José State University, which includes a biological male, the Nevada school announced Thursday.
The announcement comes after Nevada’s female players said earlier this month they would not compete against a biological male, citing safety concerns and fairness in women’s sports. Their refusal to play a game with the transgender opponent led to a standoff between the team and the university. The latter ultimately relented.
“Due to not having enough players to compete, the University of Nevada women’s volleyball team will not play its scheduled Mountain West Conference match at San José State on Saturday, Oct. 26,” Nevada Athletics said in a statement. “Per Mountain West Conference policy, the match will be recorded as a conference loss for Nevada.”
The decision marks the fifth time that a school has forfeited a scheduled game against San José State. The four previous schools were Southern Utah University, Boise State University, the University of Wyoming, and Utah State University.
Earlier this week, Nevada and San José State said the match would be moved from Reno to the San Francisco Bay Area before it was canceled. The location change made it easier on the San José State team, which would have been required to travel to Reno in order to accept the forfeited victory.
The game’s cancellation also allowed the Nevada team to return home after playing California State University, Fresno on Thursday. Fresno State is about a three-hour drive from San José State.
Transgender player Blaire Fleming has gained national attention after one of his teammates joined an ongoing lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletics Association last month, accusing the sports body of violating Title IX by allowing transgender players to compete in women’s sports.
Student-athlete Brooke Slusser says she shared a volleyball court, locker room, and a room overnight on team trips with Fleming without knowing he was transgender. Slusser was never told that her teammate was a biological male.
Led by former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, who has been outspoken on transgenderism as it relates to women’s sports, the lawsuit was originally filed in March.
The United Nations recently released an August study, finding that over 600 female athletes in more than 400 women’s-division competitions across 29 different sports were defeated by transgender-identifying men by March 30. Female athletes lost over 890 medals to male competitors, who possess biological advantages over women.