Though it originally planned to pit its women’s volleyball team against a California squad with a transgender player in its lineup, the University of Wyoming announced Tuesday it will forfeit instead.
The announcement comes after state Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle, dispatched a letter to other Wyoming Republican legislators asking them to sign a letter urging UW President Ed Seidel and Athletic Director Tom Burman to forfeit a scheduled October match between the Wyoming school’s women’s volleyball team and San Jose State University.
San Jose State has made headlines recently after Blaire Fleming, junior player who could be roughly categorized as its second-best, was revealed to be transgender, first by women’s rights newspaper Reduxx, then by the player’s own teammate and roommate, who joined a lawsuit against the NCAA last month.
Southern Utah University withdrew from its Sept. 14 match with the undefeated San Jose team. Then Boise State University forfeited its Sept. 28 match, which equates to a 3-0 loss for the Idaho team.
After both forfeits, UW Athletics maintained that its volleyball team would play it’s Oct. 5 match against SJSU. On Tuesday, the university reversed that position.
“After a lengthy discussion, the University of Wyoming will not play its scheduled conference match against San Jose State University in the UniWyo Sports Complex on Saturday, Oct. 5,” reads a Tuesday email statement from UW spokesman Chad Baldwin. “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 University at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the UniWyo Sports Complex, the statement adds.
