Colorado State reveals stance on playing conference final against SJSU and trans player Blaire Fleming
Colorado State coach Emily Kohan said her team will take the floor rather than become the latest team to forfeit against San Jose State, despite the ongoing controversy around Spartans player Blaire Fleming.
The top-seeded Rams advanced to the Mountain West volleyball tournament final on Friday after beating fifth-seeded San Diego State 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23.
And Kohan insisted her players were prepared to take on SJSU in the final Saturday evening with an automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Tournament on the line.
The coach’s defiant insistence on playing out the final showdown comes after several steams have forfeited matches against SJSU due to supposed safety concerns surrounding Fleming, who is believed to be a biological male.
Boise State, which twice boycotted regular-season matches with San Jose State, pulled out of the conference tournament on Wednesday night, hours after it defeated Utah State to secure a spot against the Spartans in Friday´s semifinals.
While the Broncos didn´t announce explicitly why they withdrew, a lawsuit was recently filed in Colorado by players from various schools against the conference and San Jose State officials calling for a Spartans player to be blocked from participating in the tournament. They cited unspecified reports asserting there was a transgender player on the San Jose State volleyball team, even naming her.
Colorado State will face San Jose State University and Blaire Fleming in the conference final
A judge denied a last-minute attempt to ban Fleming from the conference championship
US Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews in Denver ruled Monday that the player was allowed to play, and a federal appeals court upheld the decision the following day.
‘It’s been a really complex and emotional situation for us this season,’ Colorado State’s Kohan said. ‘Unless you’re in those rooms having those hard conversations and making those hard decisions, I don’t think you truly know how this feels. I also think regardless of your opinion on it, there’s some room here to acknowledge that there’s been a lot of young people showing courage all season long.
‘This can stop with us. We’re not going to pass these difficult conversations on to the NCAA committee or any other team to have those crying conversations in the hotel.’
San Jose State, which received six forfeit victories because of boycotts from opponents during the regular season, is seeded second in the conference tournament and received a first-round bye.
Boise State was the latest school to forfeit. The Broncos´ athletic department released a statement Wednesday night saying their team ‘should not have to forgo this opportunity while waiting for a more thoughtful and better system that serves all athletes.’
In addition to Boise State, Mountain West members Wyoming, Utah State and Nevada as well as Southern Utah canceled matches this season against the Spartans. Nevada´s players said they ‘refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes,’ without providing further details.
While some media have reported those and other details, San Jose State has not confirmed the school has a trans women´s volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the player´s name because she has not publicly commented on her gender identity and through school officials has declined an interview request.
Participation of transgender women in women´s sports became a hot political topic ahead of the recent election.
Two protestors from Davis, California, stood outside Cox Pavilion before and during the Colorado State-San Diego State semifinal match on Friday. They supported those teams that forfeited matches against San Jose State, arguing the Spartans had an unfair athletic advantage.
