As reported by The Globe, the University of Nevada Reno (UNR) women’s volleyball team voted to forfeit their upcoming Oct. 26 match against San Jose State University (SJSU) due to their transgender player Blaire Fleming. The team specifically cited “fairness and safety concerns” as their reasons for forfeit. Following their announcement, UNR issued a statement to Outkick, who had exclusively reported on the forfeit Monday morning, reversing the team’s vote.

“The University will continue to abide by the NCAA, Mountain West Conference and USA Volleyball rules and regulations as well as the laws and Constitution of the State of Nevada.” (emphasis added, see below)

“The University intends to move forward with the match as scheduled, and the players may choose not to participate in the match on the day of the contest. No players will be subject to any team disciplinary action for their decision not to participate in the match,” the statement read.

Last night in their match against Utah State, volleyball team captain Sia Liilii confirmed that the team will stick with their decision and will not show up to play against SJSU, as reported by the Reno Gazette Journal:

“I know what our team is going to do, and we are going to have integrity,” Liilii said.

Even after “tough conversations” with Athletic Director Stephanie Rempe, Liilii said none of the players will compete.

“I think this is the toughest thing our team has gone through, but I’m just glad I have so many brave young women behind me, and I get to be the captain of this team,” Liilii told the RGJ.

Many members of the GOP, including U.S. Senate candidate Sam Brown, cheered on the team to victory over Utah State and commended the players for their vote to forfeit. Brown, the father of an 11 year old girl, stated that protecting women’s sports was a personal, not partisan, issue for his family.

For background, Senator Jacky Rosen is a cosponsor of the Equality Act, federal legislation that would guarantee civil protections for transgender individuals, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in education, employment, housing, credit, jury service, public accommodations, and the use of federal funds.

Senator Rosen has stated that “she will not stop working until the Equality Act becomes the law of the land.”

Like Rosen, her fellow Democrats in the Nevada legislature did not stop working until they passed the Equal Rights Amendment via two legislative sessions. When passed, the legislation appeared as a ballot initiative in 2022. The initiative, in part, added gender identity and expression to the Nevada constitution, which UNR noted in their above statement.

The Globe has asked Rosen’s campaign to weigh in on the latest controversy at UNR. At the time of publishing, the campaign had not provided a comment.