Republican leaders in Congress have expressed “serious concerns” to the Mountain West Conference about transgender women participating in women's sports.
Thirteen officials signed a letter to Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez urging the conference to ban transgender athletes from competing against biological women.
“We write with grave concerns about the safety and fair competitive standards of female athletes participating in the Mountain West Conference,” said the letter, signed by members of the U.S. House and Senate.
The letter comes amid controversy at San Jose State University, where Blair Fleming, a transgender woman, plays on the women's volleyball team.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
The Mountain West logo is displayed during a college football game between the Idaho Vandals and the University of Wyoming Cowboys at War Memorial Stadium on September 7, 2024 in Laramie, Wyoming. (Kevin Langley/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Several teams forfeited games against the Spartans this season.
“Title IX was established more than 50 years ago to level the playing field for women. Since its implementation, women have participated in safer and fairer competitions, but recent events have shown that indicates that you are at risk,” the letter states.
“Recently, a member of your conference withdrew from a game to ensure the safety of female athletes, jeopardizing their competitive standing. It's unfair to the women and girls who have worked so hard not to ban them from doing so.'' We applaud the courage of our state's universities.
“Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports is not fair and unfair. Under these guidelines, biological males play male sports and biological It's natural for women to play women's sports. Obviously, the Mountain West Conference dropped the ball.”
Blair Fleming of the San Jose State Spartans reacts during the second set against the Air Force Falcons on Falcon Court in the East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Webbers/Getty Images)
“Life isn’t fair, but sports should be. We urge the Mountain West Conference to immediately address these inequities in women’s sports. We look forward to working with you to support women in college sports. looking forward to it.”
Despite being surrounded by controversy, Fleming has been one of the top players in the conference this season and has served as San Jose State's offensive anchor. Despite playing seven fewer games than expected due to forfeits, Fleming was third in the conference with an average of 3.86 kills per serve and totaled 297 kills on the year. This gives San Jose State the third-best batting average in the Mountain West.
Fleming's teammate Brooke Slusser is part of the lawsuit against the NCAA, and she, along with other Mountain West players, filed a separate lawsuit against the conference over the alleged presence of transgender teammates. Slusser claimed the school intentionally concealed Fleming's natural gender from her, other players on the team and around the conference.
San Jose State has repeatedly defended Fleming's presence on the team.
Blair Fleming, a redshirt senior at San Jose State University, plays as an outside hitter and right-side hitter on the women's volleyball team. (San Jose State University)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“All of our athletes comply with NCAA and Mountain West Conference policies and are eligible to play under the rules of those organizations. Members of our volleyball team have the right to compete. “We're very disappointed for them and for them that they were denied.”We're also proud of the way they've overcome these challenges on the court. ,” a university spokesperson said in a statement provided to FOX News Digital.
FOX News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
Follow sports coverage on Fox News Digital's X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Albanian
Croatian
Dutch
English
French
German
Italian
Macedonian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish