Boise State Forfeits Match To Avoid Trans Volleyball Player Who Was Forcibly Outed

A transgender volleyball player was forcibly outed by Reduxx and then a team captain at San Jose State University. Now, Boise State University has forfeited their match against them.

Blaire Fleming - Instagram

Boise State University released a statement on Saturday indicating that it would forfeit its match against undefeated San Jose State University. The move comes after allegedly transgender volleyball player Blaire Fleming was outed by a Reduxx article and then targeted by her teammate Brooke Slusser, who corroborated Blaire’s outing in legal filings after Blaire spoke privately about her gender identity. Now, Slusser has joined a lawsuit with anti-trans campaigner Riley Gaines in attempting to force the NCAA to disallow transgender athletes from playing on teams of the same gender. In addition, ICONS, the anti-trans organization supporting the lawsuit, sent a letter to the Mountain West Conference’s university president outing Fleming, a move that ultimately led to Boise State’s decision to forfeit the game.

“San Jose State University (SJSU), a California state university and a member of the Mountain West Conference (MWC), along with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), are allegedly violating federal law by enforcing the NCAA's Transgender Eligibility Policies (TEP). These policies allow Blaire Fleming, a transgender-identifying male, to compete on SJSU's women's volleyball team,” said the letter, falsely asserting that Title IX bans transgender athletes from competing.

Notably, transgender participation in sports does not violate any federal law. Title IX has been interpreted to protect transgender participation in sports, as evidenced by rulings from federal judges in the 9th Circuit area of jurisdiction, which covers states like California and Idaho. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals itself has ruled that transgender athletes can continue to participate in response to ongoing court cases. Title IX protections for trans athletes have likewise been affirmed in other circuits, such as the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld a similar ruling in West Virginia.

Fleming originally played in South Carolina but was forced to transfer to California after the state threatened and then later enacted a ban on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Upon transferring, she became Slusser’s roommate, according to Slusser’s legal filing. In her lawsuit, Slusser claims that she was unaware Fleming was transgender, a point that challenges the argument that people “can always tell” who is transgender—a common argument against transgender inclusion. Slusser’s legal filing consistently misgenders Fleming throughout.

From Slusser’s legal filing

Many transgender advocates quickly criticized the decision. For instance, Dr. Laura Targownik provided a thought experiment: “If there were a player with the exact same physicality and skill set as Blaire, but who was presumed [to have XX chromosomes], would she fall so far outside the expected range of athleticism of college-level athletes that other teams would refuse to play against her? I strongly suspect there are many elite female players in college right now who jump as high and or hit as hard as she does.”

The complaint, along with various news sites, highlights Fleming’s height of 6'1". For instance, Must Read Alaska describes Blaire as "a physically imposing transgender player" who "is 6'1" and towers over opposing teams." However, a quick glance at the San Jose State University (SJSU) website shows that 7 out of 25 players on the team are 6 feet or taller. Additionally, 11 of Boise State’s players exceed 6 feet in height, with many taller than Blaire. None of these athletes are accused of possessing an unfair advantage, despite their bodies being very similar to Blaire’s in appearance and size.

There is no evidence that Blaire, or that most transgender players who have been on hormone therapy for 2+ years, retain a significant advantage over cisgender female athletes in the sport of volleyball. For example, a review of literature published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism this year concluded, “Limited evidence suggests that physical performance of nonathletic trans people who have undergone GAHT for at least 2 years approaches that of cisgender controls,” noting that transgender women by the time they reach 4 years on hormone therapy have no difference in sit ups or 1.5 mile runs, and a slight advantage on pushups but a huge disadvantage when compared to cisgender men. Notably, there is no evidence of any advantage in any study in the sport of volleyball.

It is also important to note that people tend to accept a large variation in “biological advantages” among cisgender women, and that most transgender women who have been on hormone therapy likely fall within those ranges. For example, in the US vs. El Salvador match, a viral picture showed the height difference between the teams, and both teams were praised for playing to the maximum of their capabilities. Meanwhile, Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelp’s biological advantages were often praised, such as his increased wingspan and lactic acid production rate.

US vs. El Salvador - photo credit Gabriela Mena

The list of competitions and events where transgender women have been banned is continuing to grow, ranging from pool to disc golf. In Italy, transgender women were banned from competing in beauty pageants. In the United Kingdom, Rosie Kay, a British Choreographer, told trans and non-binary dancers that they must “confirm their genitalia.” In late November, Angling Trust, the main organization for fishing competitions in England, banned transgender women from competing on women’s teams.

Attacks on transgender participation in sports have escalated in recent years, with evidence suggesting that these efforts are less about protecting women’s sports and more about facilitating the exclusion of transgender people from public life. For instance, Republican U.S. Representative Glenn Grothman, while questioning Riley Gaines, suggested that the real concern behind transgender sports bans is that if transgender individuals are allowed to compete, “they might never switch back” to their assigned sex at birth. Grothman remarked, “I sometimes wonder, if we normalize the idea of guys playing in women’s sports, are you kind of wondering if we are creating a system which would be tragic if it is true, that some of these guys will never switch back?”

Meanwhile, in an interview with CNN, the president of the American Principles Project drew out exactly how they enacted a series of anti-trans laws that we are seeing continue to grow today. The “sports issue” was only ever meant as a way to make anti-trans policies more palatable to legislators. The president of the American Principles Project, Terry Schilling, detailed how this was the case, “The women's sports issue was really the beginning point in helping expose all this because what it did was, it got opponents of the LGBT movement comfortable with talking about transgender issues.”

As Slusser and ICONS' lawsuit remains unresolved, the broader landscape for transgender athletes continues to evolve, particularly in states like California, where legal protections are robust. Blaire Fleming's place on the team appears secure for now, but the future of transgender rights, including participation in sports and access to gender-affirming care, is currently in the hands of the Supreme Court, which will rule on the issue of equal protection in the coming months. The outcome of these upcoming rulings will not only impact individual athletes like Blaire but will also shape the rights and recognition of transgender people across the nation for years to come.

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