Advocacy groups are denouncing the response to a transgender San Jose State University volleyball player as transphobic and the people complaining as "extremists" following the decision by four colleges to cancel their scheduled games against the California team in recent weeks.
The controversy is "rooted in transphobia not reality," Tom Temprano, of LGBTQ rights group Equality California, told the East Bay Times on Thursday, noting that only about 1.6% of all collegiate athletes identify as transgender and that rules are in place to level the playing field. "A very vocal group of extremists has really been able to gin up an unreasonable amount of hatred and concern. But the reality is that this just is not a widespread problem."
The debate surrounds the San Jose State women's volleyball team allowing transgender player Blaire Fleming on its roster.
Boise State University's team refused to play the squad in late September, opting for a forfeit loss instead.
Although the Idaho school did not mention the reason for forfeiture in its statement, the decision was made just days after the Independent Council on Women's Sports sent a letter to Mountain West Conference schools urging them to address concerns about a transgender volleyball player at San Jose State.
Earlier this year, ICONS also filed a lawsuit against the NCAA over the participation of transgender players in women's sports due to safety concerns.
Since Boise State's forfeit, three other member colleges — Utah State University, the University of Wyoming and Southern Utah University — have refused to play San Jose State.
After learning about the issue, Utah State Rep. Sahara Hayes, who advocates for LGBTQ rights, told the Utah News Dispatch that she felt heartsick about the public attention the California athlete is facing.
"At the end of the day, it is a college girl, that one, is being publicly outed on a wide scale, and two, is being targeted by this lawsuit and by some of my colleagues," Hayes said. "I think it's really a shame that elected officials in Utah are participating in this, essentially, online harassment of a college girl."
Gabrielle Antolovich, board president of the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center in San Jose, has called the forfeits an attack on equal rights.
"There's so much negativity against trans folks and the LGBTQ community. I think there's 500 pieces of legislation against us all over the country," she told Fox KTVU last week.
After losing to Colorado State University on Thursday following several game cancellations, San Jose coach Todd Kress told Colorado Fox 31 that he was just grateful for the chance to play.
"We're disappointed that we're losing opportunities to play," he said.
Republican governors in Utah and Idaho, meanwhile, endorsed the universities' choices to cancel their matches against San Jose State.
"Our female athletes are left grappling with this difficult issue because the NCAA has failed in its responsibility to protect female athletes and women's sports. It's time for the NCAA to take this seriously and protect our female student athletes," Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox wrote on X.
