Nevada AD addresses allegations of pushing volleyball women to face trans athlete, says she apologized

The University of Nevada, Reno diversion head Stephanie Rempe addressed a caller national controversy surrounding her women's volleyball programme successful a connection to Fox News Digital. 

A conflict betwixt volleyball players and nan diversion section complete whether to compete against a squad pinch a trans jock resulted successful a last-minute forfeit owed to not having capable players to participate connected Friday. Players had told nan assemblage they did not want to play nan match, but nan programme refused to forfeit until nan time earlier it was scheduled. 

Team skipper Sia Liilii past alleged that nan schoolhouse told her and her teammates that "they didn't understand nan science" and to "reconsider their position," astatine a property convention connected Saturday. 

On Sunday, Liilii alleged that she and her teammates were told nan trans force "was astatine a disadvantage" owed to nan medicine taken to modulation from antheral to female, during nan "Stand With Women" event successful Philadelphia.

Sophomore Masyn Navarro alleged her teammates had been told to "stay quiet" astir nan contention during nan Saturday property convention but did not specify who told them. 

"It should not beryllium this difficult to guidelines up for women. However, we will now return this opportunity to guidelines up arsenic a team, arsenic immoderate who person been told to enactment quiet," Navarro said. 

Rempe said she has "no knowledge" of nan incidents cited by Liilii aliases Navarro, but she did corroborate that she and lawman diversion head Merlene Aitken-Smith held astatine slightest 1 backstage gathering pinch nan players. 

"The lawman diversion head and I met pinch nan volleyball squad and coaching unit connected Oct. 7, wherever each personnel of nan squad had an opportunity to stock their feelings astir nan situation, inquire questions, springiness their input connected adjacent steps, and we provided nan opportunity for resources," Rempe said.

"I did not tell, and americium unaware of immoderate personnel of nan athletics administrative squad telling members of our women’s volleyball squad that they ‘weren’t knowledgeable enough,’ that they ‘didn’t understand nan science,’ that they should reconsider their position aliases that they should ‘stay quiet’ regarding their information successful an Oct. 26 lucifer that was scheduled against San Jose State University."

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GOP Senate campaigner Sam Brown, left, poses pinch Nevada's Sia Liilii, halfway right, and erstwhile Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. (Sam Brown Campaign)

The assemblage has besides announced aggregate times that players would beryllium free not to participate successful nan lucifer without consequences.

Rempe said she offered an apology to nan players regarding really they were informed that nan assemblage planned to proceed pinch nan game, moreover aft nan players voted to forfeit. The squad primitively approached nan management to show them that they wanted to forfeit nan match, but nan programme past released a connection indicating nan programme would not forfeit. 

"On Oct. 14 and Oct. 22, I said pinch nan squad for little than 5 minutes each clip and those gatherings were operational successful nature. At each 3 meetings, I shared our genuine apology for not sharing nan connection released connected October 3 successful beforehand of their lucifer against UNLV. As has been stated connected aggregate occasions, we proceed to support nan authorities of nan volleyball players who take and take not to participate," Rempe said. 

INSIDE SAN JOSE STATE'S POLICE BATTLE TO PROTECT WOMEN'S ATHLETES THREATENED BY A TRANSGENDER CULTURE WAR

"The attraction of our diversion section has ever been connected nan well-being and occurrence of our student-athletes, including their expertise to study and turn from their individual and competitory experiences astatine our University. This remains our overriding privilege regarding each nan members of our women’s volleyball team." 

Nevada antecedently said it could not forfeit nan lucifer because it would beryllium a usurpation of authorities law. Article I, Section 24 of nan Nevada Constitution provides that "Equality of Rights nether nan rule shall not beryllium denied aliases abridged by this authorities aliases immoderate of its governmental subdivisions connected relationship of race, color, creed, sex, intersexual orientation, gender personality aliases expression, age, disability, ancestry aliases nationalist origin." However, nan constitution was amended successful 2022, erstwhile Nevada voted to adopt nan Equal Rights Amendment, which added gender personality to nan database of protections. 

However, that rule did not use connected Friday, erstwhile nan assemblage announced it would forfeit because it did not person capable players to compete. 

"The University of Nevada, Reno’s determination to not play its scheduled Mountain West Conference lucifer astatine San José State connected Saturday, Oct. 26 was based connected not having capable players to compete and not based connected gender personality aliases expression. This does not break nan Nevada Constitution," a abstracted connection from nan assemblage provided to Fox News Digital read. 

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Blaire Fleming, a redshirt elder astatine San Jose State University, #3, plays arsenic an extracurricular and right-side hitter connected nan women’s volleyball team. (San Jose State University)

Nevada became nan 5th squad to forfeit a lucifer against San Jose State, joining Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State. The cancelations travel pinch a San Jose State subordinate progressive successful a suit against nan NCAA alleging that she had shared a locker room and chamber pinch a transgender teammate, who is still connected nan team, without ever being told that personification was a biologic male.

San Jose State subordinate Brooke Slusser joined a suit headed by OutKick big and erstwhile collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines against nan NCAA owed to its policies connected gender identity. Slusser joined this suit because she claims that she has had to stock a court, a locker room and moreover a room connected overnight trips pinch her teammate Blaire Fleming without having ever been told that Fleming was a biologic male. 

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