By james art In the latest twist in a saga that has drawn national headlines, members of the Nevada women’s volleyball team are expected to hold a rally in Reno on Saturday at the same time the Wolf Pack is scheduled to play its match at San Jose State.
Nevada’s play notified the university in an Oct. 13 statement that it will not take the court against San Jose State and wishes to waive the Spartans, who reportedly have a transgender player on their roster.
“We demand that our right to safety and fair competition on the court be respected,” the statement read in part. “We refuse to participate in any match that promotes injustice against female athletes.”
The university maintains that the game will be played as scheduled if at least six team members are dressed, saying it cannot forfeit the contest due to state and federal laws.
“As a public university, removal for reasons related to gender identity or expression may constitute discrimination in and of itself and violate the Nevada Constitution,” UNR President Brian Sandoval said in a statement last week.
Nevada players will not be penalized if they do not attend Saturday’s scheduled game, the university said, with Tuesday’s game being moved from Reno to San Jose State, possibly as a procedural matter, so the Spartans don’t have to travel to Reno alone to gain by losing.
One of the event’s organizers told Nevada Sports Net on Thursday that Wolf Pack captain Sia Liilii, San Jose State’s most vocal opponent of the game, and a dozen members of Nevada’s volleyball team — out of 17 on the roster — will attend a rally , titled: “Women’s sports are only for women.” Liilii and former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who has been one of the biggest critics of transwomen competing in women’s sports, are expected to speak at the event. Gaines works for OutKick, a conservative website owned by Fox Corporation, which broke the news of the volleyball team’s boycott of the San Jose State game.
Reno’s rally is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at the Little Waldorf Saloon, and Nevada’s game at San Jose State is set for noon. A representative from the Little Waldorf Saloon, which is across the street from campus, confirmed to NSN that the event has been scheduled.
Additionally, Liilii is among 14 confirmed speakers at the Stand With Women event scheduled in Philadelphia on Sunday morning, according to a press release for the rally. Liilii, who is in the middle of her season with the Wolf Pack, is expected to attend, one of the organizers of the Reno rally “Women’s sports are only for women” told NSN.
Several members of the Wolf Pack volleyball team have also hired local attorney Joey Gilbert and are considering filing a lawsuit against the university, Gilbert said last week. This story was reported nationally and became highly politicized with governors, senators and presidential candidates. That includes Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, who raised a question about the topic when asked at a rally in Reno on Wednesday. In addition, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo supported the Wolf Pack volleyball players’ decision not to face San Jose State.
Nevada will be the fifth team this season to cancel its game with San Jose State, including the fourth in the MW. The Wolf Pack would suffer a loss because San Jose State’s roster is NCAA compliant, with the player in question having been a member of the Spartans for the past three seasons, including a game against Nevada in 2022. Neither team has lost a game against San Jose State in either of the previous two seasons.
Nevada volleyball is scheduled to play at Fresno State on Thursday night before Saturday’s scheduled game against San Jose State. The Wolf Pack will play at Utah State on Tuesday. Nevada is 11-9 overall and 4-4 in the MW, tied for sixth in the conference with the top six teams in the league with 11 teams advancing to the MW tournament.
MW Commissioner Gloria Nevarez told the AP last week that the forfeitures teams in her conference are taking to avoid playing at San Jose State “are not what we celebrate in college athletics,” adding that she was devastated by the situation.
“It breaks my heart because they are human beings, young people, student-athletes on both sides of this issue who are getting a lot of national negative attention,” Nevarez told the AP. “It just doesn’t feel right.”
For further reading on this story, see the links below:
October 14: Report: Nevada volleyball forfeits game against San Jose State over transgender player
October 14: Nevada says it will move forward with a match against SJSU volleyball despite the player vote
October 15: Gov. Joe Lombardo: I support Wolf Pack volleyball players’ decision to sit out SJSU game
October 17: UNR President Brian Sandoval released a new statement regarding the Nevada-SJSU volleyball game
October 18: Nevada volleyball players are considering a lawsuit against the university, attorney Joey Gilbert says
October 23:Nevada’s controversial volleyball game against San Jose State switched venues