Exclusive: In October, players on the University of Nevada-Reno women's volleyball team got into a highly publicized dispute with the university and the athletic department over whether or not they would play. match vs. San Jose State University.
San Jose State, at the time, listed transgender athletes.
Nevada players reached out to university officials privately to express their desire to forfeit the game and join four other programs that have refused to play SJSU. But Nevada did not honor this request and instead… Issue a statement Insisting that he will play the match. Nevada also insisted that its players would be allowed to skip the competition without facing discipline.
The team eventually lost the day before the match due to not having enough players. However, the university said it had held discussions with players about potential “legal issues” that could arise if the match was not played.
“University administrators met with the Nevada volleyball team and discussed scenarios that could happen if they chose not to play. One of the scenarios discussed revolved around the potential legal issues of violating the Nevada Constitution,” read the statement provided exclusively to Fox News Digital from the University. Nevada, Reno.
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The state constitution was revised in 2022, when Democratic lawmakers voted to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment, which added gender identity to the list of diversity classifications protected under state law.
“University of Nevada rules and regulations prohibit waivers on grounds of gender identity or expression. As a public university, expropriation on grounds of gender identity or expression could in itself constitute discrimination and a violation of the Nevada Constitution,” Nevada’s statement said.
Nevada's statement came in response to allegations made by co-founder of the Independent Council for Women's Sports (ICONS), Marci Smith.
Smith met and spoke with several players on the Nevada team during the dispute, and heads the legal advocacy group that filed a lawsuit against San Jose State and the Mountain West Conference over its handling of the situation involving the trans athlete.
“At UNR, school administrators warned athletes that they could face legal action if they refused to compete against a SJSU team, which featured a starting quarterback,” Smith told Fox News Digital.
The disagreement between the players escalated into a national controversy that captured mainstream political attention in the weeks leading up to the November election.
Nevada players, including captain Sia Lilly, have spoken out against the university multiple times for refusing to forfeit the game. Even Trump's presumptive nominee for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and former Nevada US Senate candidate Sam Brown visited the team for a photo op and interview.
The volume of controversy escalated as the date of the match scheduled for October 26 approached. On October 22, Nevada and San Jose State announced that the game would be moved from the University of Nevada in Reno campus to San Jose State's campus in California's Bay Area, claiming that the location change was “in the best interest of both the programs and the well.”–of student-athletes, coaches and athletic staff And the spectators.
But then, the day before the game, Nevada announced that its team would forfeit, citing not enough players willing to participate. Nevada lost on its record for the game, then went just 1-7 to end the season.
Nevada players previously spoke about the pressure they faced from the university to play the match in A press conference At their university. The match was played on the same day as the originally scheduled match on October 26.
Lilly broke down in tears from the moment she took the stage as she recounted her experience when she told school officials she didn't want to compete against a transgender player.
“We felt unsafe and rejected,” Lily said through tears. “We met with our school administrators to give them our team's new statement, but they didn't even hear it. We were told that we weren't learning enough and that we didn't understand science. We were asked to reconsider our policy.”
Nevada sophomore Masyn Navarro claimed her teammates were told to “keep quiet” about the controversy during the press conference.
“Standing up for women shouldn't be this difficult,” Navarro said. “However, we will now take this opportunity to stand up as a team, as some of us have been asked to remain silent.”
Former Nevada athletic director Stephanie Rempe I made a statement Fox News Digital addresses the allegations made in the press conference.
“I have not told, and am not aware of, any member of the athletics administrative team who has told members of the women's volleyball team that they 'have not received an adequate education,' that they 'don't understand science,' and that they should reconsider their lives. Their position or that they should 'commit silence” regarding their participation in the October 26 game scheduled against San Jose State University.
Rempe said she had apologized to the players regarding how they were informed that the university planned to continue the match, even after the players voted to withdraw.
“On October 14 and 22, I spoke with the team for less than five minutes each time and those gatherings were of a practical nature. In all three meetings, I shared our sincere apologies for not sharing the October 3 statement.” “Ahead of their game against UNLV, as we have stated on multiple occasions, we continue to support the rights of volleyball players who choose not to participate,” Rempe said.
Article I, Section 24 of the Nevada Constitution states: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by this State or any of its political subdivisions because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.” age, disability, ancestry, or national origin.”
But Liilii is now one of 11 former or current Mountain West volleyball players involved in the lawsuit filed against San Jose State and the Mountain West over their handling of the situation involving the trans athlete.
San Jose State co-captain Brooke Slusser is leading the lawsuit and is involved in a separate lawsuit against the NCAA citing her experience of having to share team, bedroom and changing spaces with a trans athlete while knowledge of the player's birth gender was actively withheld from her for an entire season of Before school and conference.
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Other players on the list of plaintiffs are Alyssa Sugai, Ellie Patterson, Nicanora Clark, Kylie Rae, Missy Boggs, Sierra Grizzle, Jordan Sandy, Katelyn Van Kirk, and Kirsten Van Kirk. Former SJSU assistant volleyball coach Melissa Batty-Smos, who was suspended by San Jose State after filing a Title IX complaint alleging the university provided preferential treatment toward a trans player, is also a plaintiff.
Smith told Fox News Digital that some athletes have expressed fear of retaliation from their schools when deciding whether or not to seek their help.
“The first most common question we hear from NCAA female athletes seeking support is: 'What can my school or the NCAA do to retaliate against me if I speak out against allowing men to play women's sports?' “They are often terrified of losing scholarships or being kicked off their teams,” Smith told Fox News Digital.
“The first reassurance we offer is that these athletes have a constitutional right to free speech. They can speak out or stand down in protest of discrimination, Title IX violations, or increased safety risks when competing against a male athlete — without fear of retaliation, regardless of the lies they say.” Their schools might tell them.”
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