San Diego State women's volleyball team trounces San Jose State, trans player as crowd advocates to 'Save Women's Sports'

Saturday’s women’s volleyball game between San Diego State and San Jose State drew a large crowd of women’s sports advocates against the latter team’s biological male player Blaire Fleming. San Jose State went on to lose the game 1-3.

A security member at San Diego’s Peterson Gym told OutKick that the average attendance to these games is 100, and that the Saturday crowd was around three times larger. 

During the game, a Save Women’s Sports banner was held up and Turning Point staff members at SDSU’s campus led chants of "no men in women’s sports."

The security member said that fans at the game did not violate guidelines. However, SDSU staff were on high alert for "hate speech" issued during Fleming’s visit to the campus. One attendee in the opposing bleachers complained to security about the chanting in an attempt to have the fans removed. 

In one of the final game sets, SDSU's Associate Athletic Director of Operations Dave Noll approached a fan leading chants, who SDSU’s Turning Point chapter identified as Patrick Higuera. 

Noll, accompanied by venue security, approached Higuera and claimed that he had violated Mountain West Conference guidelines by leading the chants. Higuera responded, "Shame on you for not protecting women."

SDSU Athletics said in a statement, "Our staff are trained to intervene in interactions in which there are disruptions, complaints or reported concerns, which occurred, and guidelines and policies are in place that help to ensure a safe environment for our student-athletes, staff and guests. Our athletic events are opportunities to support our teams, celebrate our community, and set a positive example for our student-athletes and guests. Poor behavior, including disrespectful language, taunting and any unsportsmanlike conduct, does not reflect the values we uphold, including the Mountain West Conference’s sportsmanship guidelines, and undermines the positive spirit of the game."

The San Jose State team stands at 13-4 for the season, 11-4 in the conference, with the team benefitting from opposing teams forfeiting games over the inclusion of the biological male athletes. 

Jim Desmond, member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, urged SDSU to forfeit their match in solidarity with the other teams that have refused to play San Jose State. The team chose to play, defeating their opponents. In their last game against each other, Fleming reportedly spiked a fastball that struck an SDSU player in the face. 

San Jose assistant volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended earlier in the month after she filed a Title IX complaint against the school raising concerns over the inclusion of Fleming on the women's team.