University of Wyoming forfeits volleyball game against team with trans player amid pressure from lawmakers

The University of Wyoming women’s volleyball team will forfeit its game with San José State this weekend amid criticism over the rival team’s transgender player.

The Cowgirls are the third in a group of teams to forfeit games to the currently undefeated California squad, following similar actions from Boise State and Southern Utah universities. The San José State player Blaire Fleming’s transgender status was publicized in April, and afterward another  team member joined a suit over NCAA rules allowing trans athletes under certain circumstances.

UW had originally decided to go forward with the game following talks between the athletic department, coaching staff and the team, according to Cowboy State Daily.

As of Tuesday afternoon, UW changed its mind.

“After a lengthy discussion, the University of Wyoming will not play its scheduled conference match against San José State University in the UniWyo Sports Complex on Saturday, Oct. 5,” Nick Seeman, UW’s Assistant Athletic Director said in a statement. “Per Mountain West Conference policy, the Conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Wyoming. The Cowgirls will host Fresno State on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the UniWyo Sports Complex.”

The response

Following the decision, Wyoming Equality released a statement calling the forfeiture “yet another troubling instance of politics overshadowing fair competition in collegiate sports.”

“Athletics should be about fostering teamwork, growth, and healthy competition — not about discrimination and exclusion,” spokesperson Santi Murillo said in a press release. “We believe every athlete, including transgender athletes, deserves the opportunity to compete and play the sports they love. This is personal to me, as the first transgender athlete at UW I experienced the best of Wyoming, a focus on playing sports, not politics. Taking away opportunities to compete hurts all athletes.”

Wyoming Equality also called for a focus on “consistently applied standards that create fairness and opportunity” in sports.

Gov. Mark Gordon backed the decision to forfeit the game, saying on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter: “I am in full support of the decision by @wyoathletics to forego playing its volleyball match against San Jose State. It is important we stand for integrity and fairness in female athletics.”

This echoes support the Boise State team garnered from the Idaho governor after it decided to cancel its match.

Rep. Rachel Rodriguez Williams (R-Cody) also supported the decision. She is the new chair of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which previously called for the game to be canceled .

“Thank you, UW for making the right decision and for protecting womens sports,” she said on X.

Under pressure

The decision came as state lawmakers circulated a letter pressuring UW to cancel the game. It was addressed to UW President Ed Seidel and Athletic Director Tom Burman.

“The Legislature has been very clear that the University of Wyoming, being a publicly funded land grant institution, should not participate in the extremist agenda of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) or propagate the lie that biological sex can be changed,” the letter, circulated by Sen. Cheri Steinmetz (R-Lingle), states. “We all know it cannot.”

That was an apparent reference to the Legislature voting to cut UW’s block grant by the amount it took to fund the university’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Lawmakers also voted to ban the use of state funds for anything to do with DEI, though Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed part of that budget footnote.

In response, UW has eliminated its DEI office, though it retained all staff and aimed to keep programming situated under that entity. Most of those programs didn’t match what lawmakers stated they wanted to root out, UW Board of Trustees members said.

The DEI office housed several programs, including the federally required compliance offices for the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. That last federal law prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools receiving federal funding and is often cited in arguments against allowing trans women to participate in women’s sports.

The lawmakers’ letter goes on to state: “The Wyoming Citizens were very clear in the last election cycle in which they categorically rejected incumbents and candidates who supported policies promoting or failing to stop the ‘woke’ agenda.”

During this year’s primary election, members of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus gained ground against the more traditional Republicans, reflecting what many residents see as a need for more conservative policies in Wyoming. This followed 2022’s primary election when the Freedom Caucus also gained members.

Wyoming legislators passed a law last year that banned trans girls from participating in middle and high school girls’ sports. This year, lawmakers also banned most forms of gender-affirming care for minors, including surgeries and hormone treatments.

The Biden Administration extended Title IX protections in May to ban discrimination based on gender identity, which includes someone’s transgender status. That has been challenged and enforcement has been blocked via a lawsuit headed by 15 Republican-led states, which does not include Wyoming.

Brooke Slusser, another member of the San José State volleyball team, has also joined a lawsuit against the NCAA, which claims its policies allowing trans athletes violate Title IX. The suit was originally filed by swimmer and activist Riley Gaines, who spoke at UW’s campus and fought against a trans woman being allowed into a UW sorority. Judges at the district and circuit court levels both dismissed a lawsuit over that separate issue.

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