Nevada women’s volleyball captain sheds tears as team forfeits against opponent with male player: ‘Not what we signed up for’

Nevada women’s volleyball captain Sia Liilii delivered emotional remarks as her team officially forfeited a game against San Jose State University, which has a male on its women’s team.

Nevada players had announced their intention to forfeit weeks prior to their game against SJSU, which has a 6’1″ male — Blaire Fleming, born Brayden — on its roster.

‘This is what bravery looks like, this is what leadership looks like.’

However, University of Nevada officials rejected the players’ vote and said the game would go on as scheduled in accordance with NCAA rules and state laws surrounding gender inclusion.

Last week, the match was moved from Nevada to SJSU “in the best interest of both programs and the well-being of the student-athletes, coaches, athletic staff and spectators,” a statement read.

Andrew Wevers/Getty Images

As reported by Outkick, it wasn’t until the day before the match — scheduled for this past Saturday — that Nevada officials finally announced a forfeit.

“Due to not having enough players to compete, the University of Nevada women’s volleyball team will not play its scheduled Mountain West Conference match at San José State,” the school reportedly said in a statement.

Nevada players held a news conference at game time Saturday with the support of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports as well as former NCAA athlete Riley Gaines.

Image source: Independent Council on Women’s Sports video screenshot, used by permission

You can view video of the news conference here. Gaines begins speaking after the 9:30 mark; Liilii begins speaking after the 19-minute mark.

At least nine members of the Nevada team stood on stage during the presser, all wearing shirts that read “BOYcott.”

“This is what bravery looks like, this is what leadership looks like,” Gaines stated before introducing Liilii. “Certainly more bravery and leadership than the people who are supposed to be protecting them have shown.”

Liilii received a standing ovation upon taking the podium, bringing the senior to tears as she prepared to deliver her remarks.

“I never expected to be blindsided … having to compete against a male athlete,” the Hawaiian student began. “When the news broke, I was stunned, as many of my teammates were. This is not what we signed up for.”

‘We were told we weren’t educated enough, and we didn’t understand the science.’

In addition to Nevada, four other schools have forfeited against SJSU, however, none have given specific reasons as to why they were doing so. This, despite Fleming’s own teammate saying, “We all know the reason.”

The Nevada team captain addressed this head on, saying that the “the vague messages” from other schools weren’t “directly addressing the injustice” the women were facing in their sport.

She added that her school even made its decision without consulting its own players, the ones who were directly in danger: “We were not consulted, we were not given a voice, and we did not agree.”

Shockingly, the athlete revealed that when the team spoke to school administrators, the officials refused to even listen to their statements: “We were told we weren’t educated enough, and we didn’t understand the science.” With that, the crowd in attendance loudly booed.

Blaze News on Monday reached out to the school for comment on Liilii’s aforementioned assertion but didn’t immediately hear back.

Liilii explained that she and her teammates did not expect to have to “fight for basic fairness” and that they do indeed understand the difference between a male and a female athlete.

She went on to ask the NCAA an open question: “How many young women will have to be beaten, or see their friends get beaten out of an opportunity by a male, before enough is enough?”

Liilii concluded, “Men do not belong in women’s sports. If you were born a male, you do not belong in women’s sports.”

Nevada on Tuesday is scheduled to play Utah State before returning home to play Boise State on Nov. 2; both Utah State and Boise State teams also forfeited matches against SJSU.

On SJSU’s schedule, the team lists the forfeited matches as “no contest.”

On Nevada’s schedule, however, the loss reads “forfeit.”

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