Supervisor Urges SDSU to Forfeit San Jose State Game Due to Transgender Claims

County Supervisor Jim Desmond on Friday joined a national movement of activists opposed to transgender individuals in sports to urge the San Diego State’s women’s volleyball team to not play San Jose State on Nov. 9.

SDSU, however, said the game would be played as scheduled.

In a letter penned to the 14-6 Aztecs, Desmond, joined by political activists and former athletes Riley Gaines and Payton McNabb, claimed SJSU has a transgender player on its roster and urged the team to forfeit the match.

“Allowing males to compete in women’s sports is wrong. It jeopardizes physical safety and strips away the merit of fair competition,” the authors of the letter wrote. “This is not just about one match or one season. This decision is about standing up for the integrity of women’s sports and the right of women to fairly compete.”

Five teams this year have forfeited rather than play the Spartans, who have not confirmed they have a transgender player on their roster. Nevada became the latest on Thursday.

A spokesman for San Diego State athletics responded Friday by dodging the transgender issue, saying “the team’s decision to play is not intended to be any kind of statement besides demonstrating their commitment to volleyball.”

“The SDSU student-athletes are focused on their competitive goals and want to play for that reason. We remain focused on competing with integrity and sportsmanship in alignment with NCAA and Mountain West Conference guidelines,” the spokesman told City News Service.

Nevada forfeited ahead of Saturday’s matchup, saying they “refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes,” without providing further details, according to ESPN.

Southern Utah University, Boise State University, the University of Wyoming and Utah State University have forfeited matches against the Spartans rather than play based on the rumor.

San Jose State is 11-3 this season. The player Desmond and his fellow authors are referring to is Blaire Fleming, a redshirt senior playing in her third season at San Jose State. No teams forfeited against the Spartans last season with her on the roster.

Fleming has not commented on her status publicly, but it was raised by a teammate who joined a class action suit seeking a ban of transgender women in college sports.

San Diego State beat SJSU 3-0 in a match earlier this season in San Jose.

While in college at the University of Kentucky, Gaines made national attention after tying transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas for fifth place in a race, then raising complaints about the fairness of competing with someone assigned male at birth.

Three cisgender women beat both Gaines and Thomas in the race.

McNabb is a former volleyball player who was hit with a spiked ball by a transgender player, causing what she describes as career-ending injuries. She now campaigns to remove transgender people from sports.