The University of Nevada Reno. (Photo: UNR)
The University of Nevada, Reno on Monday released a statement saying its women’s volleyball team will not officially forfeit its upcoming game against San Jose State University, despite a statement released by players saying they would.
Nevada is scheduled to play the Spartans in Reno on Oct. 26.
OutKick, a sports and culture website owned by Fox Corporation, on Monday reported that the members of the UNR women’s volleyball team voted to forfeit the game over concerns that one of San Jose State’s athletes is trans. The player in question has not spoken publicly about her gender identity but was doxxed online. The Current is not linking to those stories nor naming the player.
The university emailed to the Current its own statement later Monday, saying the “players’ decision and statement were made independently, and without consultation with the University or the athletic department. The players’ decision also does not represent the position of the University.”
The statement continued, “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 university confirmed that a majority of the team sent a statement to the university saying they would forfeit. It is unclear how many players agreed with the statement.
The statement by the players, which was released to OutKick, read: “We demand that our right to safety and fair competition on the court be upheld. We refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes.”
Three Mountain West Conference teams have refused to play San Jose State — Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State. A fourth, non-conference team, Southern Utah, also refused to play the Spartans during a tournament earlier this season.
UNLV played its scheduled game on the road against San Jose State on Saturday. The Rebels prevailed, 3-1.
The players’ statement came a week after the university’s athletics department issued a statement to Outkick saying the team “intends to play its remaining Mountain West schedule, including the matchup with San Jose State.” The players were not consulted before the athletics department sent out the previous statement, according to OutKick.
In its statement, the university said it, and its athletic programs, are governed by the Nevada Constitution and Nevada law, “which strictly protect equality of rights under the law, and that equality of rights shall not be denied or abridged by this state or any of its subdivisions on account of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin. The University is also governed by federal law as well as the rules and regulations of the NCAA and the Mountain West Conference, which include providing competition in an inclusive and supportive environment.”
This story was updated to reflect the statement from UNR issued Monday afternoon.