Republicans demand trans athletes are banned from women's sports in conference hit by volleyball scandal

Thirteen Republican congressmembers person written the Mountain West Conference to impulse commissioner Gloria Nevarez to prohibition transgender athletes from playing sports against cisgender women.

The missive comes amid ongoing controversy implicit 1 of the conference's starring volleyball players, Blaire Fleming, who is reportedly transgender. The redshirt elder and transportation from Coastal Carolina presently ranks 3rd successful the Mountain West successful points and 4th successful kills. The Spartans person won 7 matches by forfeit this play arsenic a drawstring of rivals person refused to play against Fleming.

'We constitute with superior concerns astir the information and just contention standards for female

athletes participating successful the Mountain West Conference,' work the open missive signed by members of the House and Senate. 'We impulse you to update your pupil jock guidelines to prohibit biologic males from competing against biologic pistillate students successful women's sports.'

The signees see Wyoming legislator Cynthia Lummis, Idaho legislator Mike Crapo, and Burgess Owens, the Tennessee congressman who antecedently won a Super Bowl arsenic a antiaircraft backmost for the Oakland Raiders astatine the extremity of the 1980 season.

The 13 legislators reason that the beingness of a trans jock connected a women's squad undermines Title IX, which prohibits sex-based favoritism successful immoderate schoolhouse oregon acquisition instauration that receives national funding.

'Recently, members of your league person forfeited games, risking their competitory standings

to guarantee the information of their pistillate athletes,' the missive continued. 'The Mountain West Conference's nonaccomplishment to prohibit biologic males from competing successful women's sports is unfair to the women and girls who person worked tirelessly to vie astatine the collegiate level.

'We applaud the bravery of these pistillate athletes and the universities successful our location states for taking a basal to sphere Title IX erstwhile the Mountain West Conference would not.'

In arguing that the league is failing to make an 'environment that allows women to vie without fearing for their safety,' the legislators pointed to NCAA rival, the NAIA.

'In April, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) voted unanimously to let lone students 'whose biologic enactment is pistillate to vie successful women's sports,' the missive continued.

'The NAIA determination is simply a important measurement toward protecting the rights and opportunities of pistillate athletes.'

Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming person made nationalist statements successful enactment of the forfeitures, citing a request for fairness successful women's sports. President-elect Donald Trump precocious referenced a volleyball lucifer erstwhile helium was asked during a Fox News municipality hallway astir transgender athletes successful women's sports.

'I saw the slam, it was a slam,' helium said, presumably referring to a caller viral clip showing Fleming spiking the shot disconnected an opponent, who was admittedly 'fine.'

'I ne'er saw a shot deed truthful hard, deed the miss successful the head,' Trump added.

After Trump's comment, San Diego State issued a connection that said 'it has been incorrectly reported that an San Diego State University student-athlete was deed successful the look with a volleyball during lucifer play with San Jose State University. The shot bounced disconnected the enarthrosis of the student-athlete, and the jock was uninjured and did not miss a play.'

San Jose State has not made immoderate nonstop comments astir the politicians' 'fairness' references, and Nevarez did not spell into details erstwhile addressing the contention past month.

'I'm learning a batch astir the issue,' Nevarez said. 'I don't cognize a batch of the connection yet oregon the subject oregon the knowing nationally of however this contented plays out. The outer influences are truthful acold connected either side. We person an predetermination year. It's political, so, yeah, it feels similar a no-win based connected each the outer pressure.'

The cancellations could mean immoderate teams volition not suffice for the league tourney November 27-30 successful Las Vegas, wherever the apical six schools are slated to vie for the league championship.

'The student-athlete (in question) meets the eligibility standard, truthful if a squad does not play them, it's a forfeit, meaning they instrumentality a loss,' Nevarez said.

San Jose State manager Todd Kress said playing was his team's 'safe haven' and noted that information and constabulary escorts are present progressive erstwhile his squad takes the court. He has not discussed circumstantial players publically since the forfeits began.

'I cognize that it's decidedly taken a toll connected galore of them. They're receiving messages of hate, which is wholly ridiculous to me,' helium said successful Albuquerque. 'Some of those radical are the underbelly of nine that you onslaught an 18, 19, 20-year-old female. And adjacent much truthful if you're a genitor and you're attacking 18, 19 oregon 20-year-olds.

'Would you privation your student-athlete, your daughter, to look the aforesaid benignant of hatred that you're dishing out?'