Boise State forfeits volleyball game against Mountain West team with transgender athlete

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Boise State’s volleyball team announced Friday afternoon that it had backed out of its match against San Jose State this weekend.

“Boise State volleyball will not play … at San José State on Saturday, Sept. 28,” BSU said in a statement. “Per Mountain West Conference policy, the Conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Boise State. The Broncos will next compete on Oct. 3 against Air Force.”

The undefeated San Jose State volleyball team has been in the spotlight this season because of a transgender student-athlete competing for the Spartans. That player is in her third year at the school, having previously played for Coastal Carolina before transferring.

When asked by the Idaho Statesman on Friday for comment, neither Boise State Athletics spokesperson Chris Kutz nor Boise State University spokesperson Sherry Squires provided further explanation for why the game was canceled.

San Jose State spokesperson Michelle Smith McDonald told the Statesman that it would not comment specifically on a student-athlete’s gender identity.

“We are operating our program under the regulations of both the NCAA and the Mountain West, and our student-athletes are in full compliance with NCAA rules and regulations,” Smith McDonald said.

San Jose State volleyball player Brooke Slusser recently joined a lawsuit against the NCAA, according to a motion filed in the Northern District Court of Georgia, Atlanta Division, where the suit was first filed. It aims to prevent transgender women from competing in NCAA-sanctioned women’s sports.

Slusser states in the motion that a transgender player is competing for San Jose State and claims that the NCAA “violated Title IX and the Fourteenth Amendment” in allowing the trans athlete to compete.

Riley Gaines, a former swimmer at the University of Kentucky, initially brought the lawsuit against the NCAA and has been joined by more than a dozen college athletes, according to CBS.

Gaines took to social media Friday and posted, “While no official reason was given, the cause is clear — SJSU has a male posing as a woman on their team.”

Southern Utah also canceled its game against San Jose State this season, on Sept. 14, but did not provide a reason, according to Outkick, a commentary website owned by Fox. Gaines is a contributor for Outkick.

That website also said that Wyoming was considering forfeiting its game against SJSU on Oct. 5.

However, a spokesperson for that school told Cowboy State Daily that the match will be played.

“The Athletic Department administration/coaching staff recently discussed the matter with the entire women’s volleyball team … including any potential safety concerns,” Chad Baldwin told Cowboy State Daily this week. “No student-athletes expressed any concern regarding their safety.”

Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little put out a statement Friday on Facebook commending the Boise State decision.

“I applaud Boise State University for working within the spirit of my Executive Order, the Defending Women’s Sports Act. We need to ensure player safety for all of our female athletes and continue the fight for fairness in women’s sports,” Little said.

Joshua Whitworth, executive director of the Idaho State Board of Education, also supported forfeiting the match.

“Boise State’s action we believe is in alignment with Governor Little’s executive order,” Whitworth said in a statement to the Statesman. “I also believe that a solution must be found to guarantee fairness and opportunity in all sports across the country; otherwise, this issue will continue to drive division and force decisions like the one made by Boise State.”

Reporter Ian Stevenson contributed to this story.