San Jose State can play in the Mountain West Conference tournament — but when will they?
A team that previously boycotted at least one match against the San Jose State women’s volleyball program will again be faced with the decision whether to play the school, this time in the Mountain West Conference semifinals with a shot at the NCAA Tournament on the line.
Five schools forfeited matches in the regular season against San Jose State, which carried a No. 2 seed into the conference tournament in Las Vegas.
Among those schools: No. 3 Utah State and No. 6 Boise State, who will face off Wednesday with the winner scheduled to play the Spartans in the semifinals on Friday.
Wyoming, Nevada and Southern Utah — which is not a Mountain West member — also canceled regular-season matches, all without explicitly saying why they were forfeiting.
Nevada players cited fairness in women’s sports as a reason to boycott their match, while political figures from Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Nevada suggested the cancellations center around protecting women’s sports.
The controversy has centered around Blaire Fleming, who has been named in numerous reports as the trans player.
San Jose State’s captain Brooke Slusser has repeatedly spoken out about how the school has handled the situation.
“It was more so the school only supporting Blaire, and they didn’t really seem to want to check in on us,” Slusser told Outkick last month.
“Basically, ‘You shouldn’t be the person to identify Blaire’s gender identity. That’s something that Blaire needs to do, and not you. That’s not your story to tell.’ But we all have a story, too. This isn’t just something that Blaire’s going through. This is something that I’m going through, too, and my teammates. I have so many emotions and questions, and I don’t know how to voice them.”
Fleming has remained silent as the story has spiraled into a national controversy.
In a lawsuit filed against the NCAA, plaintiffs cited unspecified reports asserting there was a transgender player on the San Jose State volleyball team.
A judge on Monday rejected a request made by nine current conference players — including Slusser — to block the San Jose State player from competing in the tournament on grounds that she is transgender.
That ruling was upheld Tuesday by an appeals court.
“The team looks forward to starting Mountain West Conference tournament competition on Friday,” San Jose State said in a statement issued after the appeals court decision. “The university maintains an unwavering commitment to the participation, safety and privacy of all students at San Jose State and ensuring they are able to compete in an inclusive, fair and respectful environment.”
Chris Kutz, a Boise State athletics spokesman, said in an email the university would not “comment on potential matchups at this time.”
Doug Hoffman, an Aggies athletics spokesman, said in an email Utah State is reviewing the court’s order.
“Right now, our women’s volleyball program is focused on the game this Wednesday, and we’ll be cheering them on,” Hoffman wrote.
San Jose State, which had a first-round bye, would be sent directly to the conference title game if Utah State or Boise State were to forfeit again.
If the Spartans make the title game, it’s likely the opponent would not forfeit.
They would face top-seeded Colorado State, No. 4 Fresno State or No. 5 San Diego State — all teams that played the Spartans this season.
The conference champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
— With AP
