A college volleyball player who refused to compete against a biological male player tells her story in a new documentary, shared first with Fox News Digital.
Sia Lilly, captain of the University of Nevada, Reno women's volleyball team, made national headlines in October when she and her teammates refused to play a scheduled match against San Jose State after learning of the presence of an alleged biological transgender player on the court. a team.
During the preseason, Lilly said she was “shocked” after seeing viral clips of the San Jose player “hitting balls that were indefensible and it was frankly a safety concern for a lot of us.”
“Sixteen of us have already made 17 decisions and said, 'Hey, this isn't right. We're going to take a stand,'” Lilly says at IW Features.Hold the line“.
Sia Liilii tells her story on IW Features' “Hold the Line.” (IW Features, Independent Women's Project)
Weeks before the game, Lilly's team decided to forfeit its game against San Jose State, which was scheduled for October 26.
However, when the team presented their concerns to the sporting director, Lilly claimed their decision was not supported.
“We were told that we were not educated enough about this topic,” she said. “We need to reconsider our position on what we were doing because it is something we have not been able to understand yet,” he added.
She added: “Our coaches have supported us and made it clear that they support us in any decision we make… but I do not feel that we have received full support or backing from many of the university officials at our school.”
A student leads a group of demonstrators in Knoxville, Tennessee, protesting the state's 2022 ban on transgender athletes. ((Saul Young/Knoxville News-Sentinel/USA Today))
The university sent Fox News Digital a statement denying telling players they were “not adequately educated on this topic.”
“The University of Nevada Director of Athletics and Vice Chancellor met with the Nevada volleyball team and coaching staff on October 7, 2024 where each team member in attendance had the opportunity to share their feelings about the situation, ask questions, and provide their opinions on the situation. Next Steps and had the opportunity to For resources.’ “The team was not told that they had not received adequate education on this topic during this meeting by the Director of Athletics or the Vice Director. On October 14 and 22, 2024, the Director of Athletics spoke with the team for no more than five minutes during each event and those huddles were of a practical nature.”
University administrators said they told the team they could not forfeit the game “for reasons of gender identity or expression” because it violated the state constitution.
The day before the game, the school officially announced that it would forfeit the game due to not having enough players ready to compete against San Jose State.
Nevada was the fifth team to lose its game against San Jose State, joining Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State, who all officially forfeited their scheduled games against the California school.
Nevada is the fifth team to lose its game against San Jose State amid an ongoing national controversy over an alleged transgender player on the team. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Lily, who grew up in Hawaii and received a Division I scholarship to the University of Nevada in 2021, said not having support from her university was “really hard.”
“I was so afraid to come out, but I don’t think I would do anything differently,” she says in the documentary.
Lily now joins other female athletes in the fight against these policies as an Ambassador for the Independent Women's Forum, which champions women's sport.
“Fairness and safety in women's sports should not be up for debate, which is why we're proud to feature the voices of Sia Lilly, McKenna Dressel, and Kinsley Singleton,” said Andrea Meo, IW Features managing editor and producer of the documentary. He said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Sia Lilly speaks at the Independent Women's Forum event. (Independent Women's Forum)
The clock is ticking for the NCAA to change its transfer policy and protect women's sports
“These women will settle for nothing less. Governing bodies like the National Collegiate Athletic Association The NCAA (“NCAA”) needs to step up and stop allowing woke politics to erase the accomplishments of these hard-working female athletes and many others. Women's sports should be about fair competition, not about breaking the rules of inclusivity. It's simple – keep women's sports for women and make the changes now. “No more excuses,” she added.
“Women’s sports are only for women, and men’s sports are only for men because it gives us an opportunity to support the sport without it being dominated by the opposite gender,” Lilly said. “Nobody wants to be in a position to jeopardize their career… If men are allowed to compete against women, women will be erased from sport.”
Lilly's story comes amid a growing movement of female athletes demanding that the NCAA review its current policies that allow transgender athletes to compete on women's teams.
Former collegiate swimmer and Independent Women's Forum ambassador Riley Gaines led the movement, making the filing lawsuit v. the NCAA last March, which claims its policy on trans players violates Title IX protections for female college athletes.
Riley Gaines is sworn in during a hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services on Capitol Hill on December 5, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., revealed this week that he plans to introduce a joint resolution alongside Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., that would call on the NCAA to revoke the eligibility of trans athletes who compete as women.
Fox News' Jackson Thomas contributed to this article.
