By Hayden Cunningham – The Postmillennial
Sia Liilii, captain of the University of Nevada’s women’s volleyball team, criticized the school, claiming it “dismissed” the team’s concerns over competing against a transgender-identifying athlete.
Liilii explained that she and her teammates informed university officials weeks in advance of their intention to forfeit a match against San Jose State, which has Blair Fleming, a biological male, on its roster. However, the university only announced the forfeiture one day before the game, citing the fact it did not have enough players.
In a press conference, Liilii explained that players “felt unsafe and dismissed.”
“We met with our school officials to give them our team’s new statement, but they wouldn’t even hear it,” she explained. “We were told that we weren’t educated enough and that we didn’t understand the science. We were told to reconsider our position.”
Liilii added that she was “stunned” when she learned the university planned to go ahead with the match despite multiple members speaking out in protest of participating.
“When the news broke, I was stunned, as many of my teammates were. This is not what we signed up for,” she said.
On October 13, the university issued a statement affirming its intention to compete against San Jose State, despite the players voting to forfeit the match.
“Our university had made a decision for us,” Liilii said. “They released a statement on our behalf saying we were going to play. We were not consulted, we were not given a voice and we did not agree.”
She added, “My teammates and I were very emotional, and I’m not sure, I cannot put into words how it feels to face something like this and knowing that we are all on our own.”
In a previous statement, the university defended its decision, stating that while it acknowledged the players’ vote to forfeit, the final decision rested with the university and the athletics department. The school also noted that players who opted out of the match would not face disciplinary action.
Ultimately, Nevada forfeited the match last Friday due to a lack of available players, becoming the fifth school to refuse to compete against San Jose State over its inclusion of a biological male on its women’s team. Other schools that have forfeited matches include Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State, and Southern Utah University.
According to the Daily Mail, at least a dozen female athletes, including a teammate of Fleming, have accused the NCAA of violating the law by allowing a transgender-identifying player to compete on a women’s team. Fleming, who is 6 feet 1 inch tall, ranks fourth in the Mountain West Conference for kills and overall points.