EXCLUSIVE: Concerned Women of America (CWA) is working to protect women’s sports after an athlete on the San Jose State University (SJSU) women’s volleyball team was identified as a transgender player.

Blaire Fleming’s towering 6-foot-10 presence on the volleyball court has helped SJSU’s Division I volleyball team remain undefeated on the court this season.

Macy Petty, CWA legislative assistant and NCAA volleyball athlete, shared with Fox News Digital the organization’s efforts to raise awareness about the impact of transgender players on women’s sports.

“We want to protect the integrity of women’s sports, but also the safety of these athletes,” she said. “Many of these schools didn’t know there was a male athlete on this team until this news article came out in April. We just want to make sure that these schools know exactly what’s going on in this athletic program, because the NCAA and SJSU knew that. “I didn’t give them the decency beforehand to even tell them what happened.

“Female athletes were put in the strange situation of showing up on the court, looking to the other side and realizing that something was different about this game. I’ve never seen a female athlete play like that before, which makes perfect sense considering that.” First, the athlete isn’t a woman, but the net is seven inches shorter than it should be for male players.

As a female athlete, I do not agree with playing alongside men in college sports

Blaire Fleming, a redshirt senior at San Jose State University, plays outside hitter and right tackle on the women’s volleyball team. (San Jose State University)

Petty said players felt “blindsided” because the league’s governing body – the NCAA – did not inform teams about the presence of transgender players on opposing teams.

“There is no declaration of consent for either the schools or the athletes here. They are completely taken aback when they walk to the field and see a male athlete standing on the other side.”

“This actually happened to me. I played college volleyball and the same thing happened to me during my recruiting process. I walked to the field and with all the college scouts standing around me, I looked at my competition. and it was a boy,” she said. “I thought it was obviously cheating, but I played anyway because I didn’t have the time to think about it and think about the decisions I was making. At that moment it was just up to me, without any respect being shown to me, about this decision.”

Petty said athletes face a choice “between perhaps a $100,000 educational scholarship or their own safety and dignity.”

“We will not endanger our female athletes, we will not endanger their safety and dignity.”

— Macy Petty, Concerned Women for America

“And for many girls, that’s a burden that’s just too much to bear,” she said. “We’re asking these schools to be proactive about this matter and just say if there’s a boy on the other team, we won’t play. We will not put our female athletes at risk, we will not participate to jeopardize their safety and dignity. We’re just not playing, we’re not going to play this game and we have to put that burden on our athletes.”

The organization’s concerns led it to file a federal civil rights complaint alleging discrimination against women and arguing that the California university had allowed a male athlete to hold a female roster spot as well as a female athletic scholarship.

CWA also sent letters to schools competing against SJSU informing them of men’s participation in the sport and the potential impact on their female athletes.

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Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a copy of the letter the organization sent to Colorado State University informing them of Fleming’s presence and safety concerns.

“We just asked a few questions, like if they knew there was a young athlete they would be competing against. We also asked if they were willing to compromise the integrity of your program, but also the safety of your program. “When you participate in this sport, you know that the risk of harm to your athletes is increased. What are you doing to prevent something like this from happening again in the future?”

Blaire Fleming, a transgender athlete, played three seasons at SJSU after previously playing at Coastal Carolina. (San Jose State University)

On Friday, Colorado State responded to the organization’s request and said it intended to host the university on Oct. 3 as planned.

“And while we appreciate that they responded to our inquiry, we recognize that there have been two important developments since their response on Friday. First, Concerned Women for America filed this federal civil rights complaint against San Jose State. And also against Boise.” State withdrew from its game – a conference game – against San Jose State.”

“We hope the state of Colorado will re-evaluate our questions knowing this is a serious issue,” she said.

(Jack Dempsey/NCAA photos via Getty Images)

Boise State University forfeited its game against SJSU on September 28th.

“Boise State Volleyball will not play its scheduled game at San Jose State on Saturday, September 28th. Per Mountain West Conference policy, the conference will record the game as a forfeit and a loss for Boise State. The Broncos will next face each other on October 28 . 3 against Air Force,” Boise State said in a statement.

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Idaho Gov. Brad Little praised the move, saying it worked “in the spirit” of an executive order he signed to “defend women’s sports.”

“I applaud Boise State for working under my executive order, the Defending Women’s Sports Act,” Little wrote in an X post. “We must ensure the safety of all our athletes and continue the fight for fairness in women’s sports.”

On Tuesday, the University of Wyoming followed suit and forfeited its conference game against SJSU. The news came after CWA’s collegiate organization, Young Women for America, sent a letter to University of Wyoming President Edward Seidel and Athletics Director Tom Burman.

“After a lengthy discussion, the University of Wyoming will not play its scheduled conference game against San Jose State University on Saturday, October 5, at the UniWyo Sports Complex. In accordance with Mountain West Conference policy, the conference will record the game as a loss for Wyoming,” they wrote in a statement. “The Cowgirls host Fresno State on Thursday, October 3rd at 6:30 p.m. at the UniWyo Sports Complex.”

The latest reports about Fleming’s influence on women’s sports come as a lawsuit has been filed in Georgia against the NCAA.

The lawsuit is led by former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines and includes SJSU volleyball player Brooke Slusser as a plaintiff.

In the lawsuit, Slusser, a Texas native who transferred to SJSU from the University of Alabama, said Fleming is a “man who identifies as transgender and claims a female identity.”

Slusser claimed that SJSU did not immediately tell her that Fleming was transgender and that the two lived together on road trips. Slusser said she learned of her teammate’s gender identity when she heard a student call Fleming a “guy.”

One of Fleming’s teammates, along with several other female athletes, sued the NCAA for Title IX violations. (San Jose State University)

Fleming told Slusser in April 2024 that she was born male and considered herself transgender, according to the lawsuit.

Slusser said Fleming’s spikes reached speeds of more than 80 miles per hour, “which was faster than (Slusser) had ever seen a woman hit a volleyball.” Other members of the SJSU team were concerned by Fleming’s spikes getting a concussion, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit alleged that team members were instructed not to discuss Fleming’s gender with anyone outside the team.

“Due to the NCAA’s transgender eligibility policies allowing Fleming to play on the SJSU women’s volleyball team, which resulted in SJSU recruiting Fleming, awarding Fleming a scholarship, and allowing Fleming to fill positions that were Brooke’s right.” to physical privacy, Brooke has suffered “physical and emotional injury, embarrassment, humiliation, emotional distress, mental anguish and suffering,” the lawsuit states.

Fox News Digital has reached out to San Jose State University for comment.

Slusser spoke to OutKick over the weekend about the lawsuit and said she believes she is doing the right thing.

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“It’s crazy to say this, but it was easy for me to join because I really believe in it,” Slusser said. “And it’s been easy because all the support I get is 99% love and encouragement. For me it shows that I made the right decision to take part. This is something that so many people care about.” It’s just that so many people are afraid to talk about it.

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