XPost: alt.transgendered, rec.sport.volleyball, sac.politics
XPost: talk.politics.guns
Draw the curtain.
San Jose State volleyball player Blaire Fleming probably played the final college volleyball game of the athleteÆs career after a Mountain West Tournament final loss to Colorado State Saturday night.
Fleming led the Spartans on a run to the championship match in a senior
season overshadowed by lawsuits from a teammate and a national controversy
over Fleming being transgender.
Fleming led the team in spikes and prompted four Mountain West rivals to forfeit a total of seven conference games, including a tournament
semifinal.
But Colorado State never shied away from playing Fleming or the Spartans.
The Rams played San Jose two times in the regular season, splitting the
season series, and then taking the championship match three sets to one.
Colorado StateÆs Malaya Jones, the Mountain West player of the year, led
the game with 26 kills after kneeling during the national anthem before
the match.
Jones was also alleged to have conspired with Fleming in a plan to spike a
ball in the face of San Jose State teammate Brooke Slusser in a game Oct.
3, according to a lawsuit filed by Slusser and a Title IX complaint.
Slusser was never spiked in the face, and the Mountain West concluded an investigation into the Title IX complaint, saying it did not find
sufficient evidence of wrongdoing. SlusserÆs attorney has questioned the validity of the investigation.
Fleming, meanwhile, led San Jose State in the game with 17 kills but
committed nine errors and hit poorly in the first two sets when the
Spartans fell in a two-sets-to-none hole.
San Jose StateÆs loss will also mean it wonÆt advance to the NCAA
tournament, which would have introduced further controversy with potential matchups against teams outside the conference.
Boise State forfeited its Mountain West Tournament semifinal match against
San Jose State, which could have set a precedent for teams in other states
with laws that prevent transgender inclusion in womenÆs sports.
Boise State, Utah State, Wyoming, Nevada and non-conference opponent
Southern Utah all forfeited regular-season matches against San Jose State
this season amid the controversy.
Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech, which played its season opener against San Jose State Aug. 30, has told Fox News Digital it did not know Fleming was a biological male and suggested the match wouldnÆt have happened if the team
had known.
The situation became so widely publicized, FlemingÆs presence on the team
drew criticism from President-elect Trump on the campaign trail during the
most recent election cycle.
Trump weighed in on the situation involving Fleming during a town hall
event on Fox News ChannelÆs ôThe Faulkner Focusö Oct. 17.
Trump referenced Fleming specifically, describing a video in which one of
the athleteÆs spikes hit another player.
ôI saw the slam. It was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so hard, hit the
girl in the head,ö Trump said. ôBut other people, even in volleyball,
theyÆve been permanently, I mean, theyÆve been really hurt badly. Women
playing men. But you donÆt have to do the volleyball. We stop it. We stop
it. We absolutely stop it. You canÆt have it.ö
Trump revealed his intention to ban transgender inclusion in womenÆs
sports if elected. It became a talking point he made sure to reference at
every campaign rally from then until Election Day.
He and Republican allies hammered DemocratsÆ position of protecting
transgender inclusion, which grew increasingly unpopular.
A federal judge could have ended FlemingÆs career earlier but decided to
allow the player to compete in the conference tournament.
Federal Judge Kato Crews of Colorado, appointed by President Biden in
January, denied a motion for injunctive relief in a lawsuit by college volleyball players against the conference.
The players were looking to have their forfeits for refusing to play
against Fleming and the Spartans rescinded, which would, in turn, shift
the standings heading into the tournament. They also wanted Fleming banned
from the tournament.
Crews, however, wrote that the plaintiffsÆ request for an emergency delay
ôwas not reasonableö and ôwould risk confusion and upend months of
planning and would prejudice, at a minimum, (San Jose State) and other
teams participating in the tournament.ö
Despite the lawsuits, Slusser and the rest of the San Jose State roster
took the court with Fleming for matches all season.
Fleming was second in the conference in kills per set with a .386, still
well behind Jones, who led the way at .457.
Fleming had a signature moment in the second-to-last match of the season against first-place Colorado State at home on Senior Day.
Fleming led the game in kills with 24 and total attacks and clinched
victory in the fifth set with a match-point service ace.
Right after the play, Fleming was swarmed by teammates in celebration.
Even Slusser got involved. This group celebration took place just days
after Slusser and other Mountain West players filed a second lawsuit over FlemingÆs presence on the team against San Jose State and the conference.
Now, Fleming, Slusser and their other senior teammates will look ahead to
their post-volleyball lives.
https://nypost.com/2024/12/01/sports/san-jose-state-transgender-womens- volleyball-player-blaire-fleming-ends-college-career-with-loss-in-mwc- championship/
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