Nevada AD Addresses Accusations She Push Volleyball Players to Fight Trans Athletes, Says She Apologized

University of Nevada, Reno athletic director Stephanie Rempe gave a recent speech. national controversy around its women’s volleyball program in a statement to Fox News Digital.

The dispute between female volleyball players and the athletic department over whether to compete against a team that has a trans athlete has ended. defeat at the last minute due to a lack of players to participate on Friday. The players told the university they did not want to play the match, but the program refused to forfeit it until the day it was scheduled.

Then at a press conference on Saturday, team captain Sia Liiliy said the school told her and her teammates that “they don’t understand the science” and would “reconsider their position.”

On Sunday, Liili said she and her teammates were told that trans opponents were “at a disadvantage” due to medications taken to transition from male to female during Event “Stand with Women” in Philadelphia.

Sophomore Maysyn Navarro said her teammates were told to “stay silent” about the controversy during a news conference Saturday, but did not say who told them.

“Protecting women shouldn’t be this hard. However, we will now take this opportunity to stand up for the entire team, like some who were told to remain calm,” Navarro said.

Rempe said she had “no knowledge” of the incidents reported by Liili or Navarro, but she confirmed that she and deputy sporting director Merlyn Aitken-Smith had at least one private meeting with the players.

“On October 7th, the associate athletic director and I met with the volleyball team and coaching staff, where each member of the team had the opportunity to share their feelings about the situation, ask questions, give their opinion on next steps, and we provided the opportunity to receive resources,” Rempe said .

“I have not and do not know of any member of the athletics administrative team who has told members of our women’s volleyball team that they are ‘not educated enough,’ that they ‘don’t understand the science,’ that they should reconsider their positions, or that they should “remain silent” regarding his participation in the October 26 game, which was scheduled against San Jose State University.

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Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown (left) poses with Nevada’s Sia Liili (center right) and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. (Sam Brown Campaign)

The university has also repeatedly stated that players can choose not to participate in the match without consequences.

Rempe said she apologized to the players for the way they were told the university planned to continue the game even after the players voted to forfeit. The team initially contacted the administration stating that they wanted to forfeit the match, but the program then released a statement indicating that the program would not forfeit.

“On October 14 and 22, I spoke with the team for less than five minutes each time, and these meetings were operational in nature. At all three meetings, I shared our sincere apologies for not sharing the statement released on October 3 in advance of the match against UNLV. As has been stated many times, we continue to support the rights of volleyball players who choose not to participate,” Rempe said.

INSIDE SAN JOSE STATE POLICE FIGHT TO PROTECT FEMALE ATHLETES UNDER THREAT OF TRANSGENDER CULTURE WAR

“The focus of our athletic department has always been the well-being and success of our student-athletes, including their ability to learn and grow from their personal and competitive experiences at our university. This remains our top priority for all members of our women’s volleyball team.”

Nevada previously said it could not forfeit the match because it would be a violation of state law. Article I, Section 24 of the Nevada Constitution provides that “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by this State or any of its political subdivisions on account of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin.” However, the constitution was amended in 2022 when Nevada voted to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which added gender identity to its list of protections.

However, that law was not enforced on Friday when the university announced its ineligibility due to not having enough players to compete.

“The decision by the University of Nevada, Reno not to play a scheduled Mountain West Conference game at San Jose State on Saturday, October 26, was based on a lack of players to compete, and not on gender identity or expression. This does not violate the Nevada Constitution,” the university said in a separate statement provided to Fox News Digital.

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Blair Fleming, a senior at San Jose State University (No. 3), plays winger and right hitter on the women’s volleyball team. (San Jose State University)

Nevada became the fifth team to lose a match against San Jose State, joining Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State. The cancellations come as a San Jose State player was involved in a lawsuit against the NCAA alleging that she shared a locker room and bedroom with a transgender teammate who is still on the team, without even disclosing that the person was a biological male.

San Jose State player Brooke Slusser has joined a lawsuit led by OutKick host and former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines against the NCAA over its gender identity policies. Slusser joined the lawsuit because she claims she had to share the court, locker room and even a room on overnight trips with her teammate Blair Fleming, although she was never told that Fleming was a biological male.

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