University of Wyoming women’s volleyball player Macey Boggs testified at a state Senate hearing about her team’s forfeit of two matches against San Jose State in 2024 during a controversy involving transgender player Blaire Fleming.
Boggs, one of 11 former or current Mountain West volleyball players in a lawsuit against SJSU and the conference, spoke in favor of a bill that would require participation in athletic competitions to be limited to an athlete’s biological sex at birth in the state.
But for Boggs, no amount of legislation will give him another opportunity to compete in the volleyball playoffs. Wyoming’s two forfeits against SJSU on Oct. 5 and Nov. 14 cost the team a chance to make the Mountain West tournament, and his career is now over.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
“My team was punished with two losses for refusing to play against a male athlete from an opposing team, an injustice that ultimately prevented us from participating in the Mountain West tournament.” » said Boggs. “I was deprived of the chance to play my final collegiate matches because we were faced with a situation that no woman should ever have to face, competing against a team with a male athlete with a women’s scholarship or losing the remainder of our season No woman should have to face such a decision.
“We deserve to compete against athletes whose biology matches ours, not against a male standard.”
Sacrificing a chance to compete for a championship to keep herself and her teammates safe left a lasting impression on Boggs that she won’t soon forget.
“My team was told that we didn’t deserve security on the field, that we weren’t big enough to compete fairly, and that women should stay silent for the benefit of men,” she said. . “This issue isn’t just about wins and losses. It’s about whether we respect women and girls.”
Wyoming Republican State Senator Wendy Schuler, a former college athlete, is the bill’s sponsor and chair of the Senate Education Committee. Boggs urged state lawmakers to pass the bill aimed at protecting future female athletes from similar situations. The bill passed in a 4-1 vote.
There are already 25 states that have laws in place to prevent transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. A bill to prevent it nationally has already passed the House of Representatives.
Boggs hopes his experience can lead lawmakers to ensure this doesn’t happen anywhere else.
“Even though it may be too late for me to finish my career in the conditions deserved by my team, it is not too late for the young girls who follow us,” she said. “It is fundamentally unfair, dangerous and a violation of women’s rights to force women to compete with or against biological men.”
Boggs expressed his belief that sex is determined by birth and “not by feelings.”
WHO IS BLAIRE FLEMING? SJSU VOLLEYBALL PLAYER DOMINATING FEMALE RIVALS AND ENRAGING WOMEN’S RIGHTS GROUPS
Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit are SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser, Alyssa Sugai, Elle Patterson, Nicanora Clarke, Kaylie Ray, Sia Li’ili’i, Sierra Grizzle, Jordan Sandy, Katelyn Van Kirk and Kiersten Van Kirk. Former SJSU assistant volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose, who was suspended by San Jose State after filing a Title IX complaint alleging the university gave favorable treatment to the trans player, is also a plaintiff.
Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer and prominent conservative influencer who regularly organizes with other female athletes affected by transgender inclusion and is leading a lawsuit against the NCAA over the issue, revealed her account of this that the players experienced, based on discussions with them, during a hearing in Idaho on January 9.
“They were emotionally blackmailed into believing they were the problem,” Gaines said of the players, adding that Boise State was the only university to provide administrative support to players wishing to forfeit.
SJSU TRANSGENDER VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: TIMELINE OF ALLEGATIONS, POLITICAL IMPACT AND RAGENT CULTURAL MOVEMENT
“The overwhelming majority of them didn’t want this to happen to them. Nobody asked for this. This is not a situation they wanted to find themselves in,” Gaines added. “These girls were terrified. They were terrified of standing up. They were terrified of standing up for themselves. They were terrified of the things that might happen if they just said ‘men and women are different “.”
Marshi Smith, co-founder of a legal advocacy group, the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, said female athletes who joined the lawsuit felt threatened with retaliation from their university if they spoke out. against transgender inclusion.
“What will they do to us if we speak out?” players often asked, according to Smith.
Smith expanded on these players’ questions in a follow-up statement to PK Press Club Digital.
San Jose State Spartans players before a game against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
“They are often terrified of losing their scholarships or being kicked off their team. At San Jose State, administrators exploited these fears by telling them to shut up because it’s history Blaire Fleming’s story to tell, not theirs,” Smith said.
Louisiana Tech head volleyball coach Amber McCray confirmed to PK Press Club Digital that her team was unaware of the situation regarding Fleming’s natural gender, and she didn’t find out until the day after the match via parental rumors.
LA Tech athletic director Ryan Ivey suggested in emails obtained by PK Press Club Digital that if officials had known Fleming’s natural gender, the team “would have sought ‘a different outcome.’
Slusser, who claims he had to share rooms and locker rooms with Fleming as part of the trial, told PK Press Club Digital the experience was “traumatic.”
“This season has been so traumatic that I don’t even have a proud moment,” Slusser said.
SJSU also acknowledged a recent exodus of volleyball players who have entered the transfer portal. Nearly all remaining players still eligible are looking to leave the program.
“Student-athletes have the ability to make decisions regarding their college athletic careers, and we have the utmost respect for that,” a statement said.
