Utah lawmakers support volleyball teams’ protest of transgender athletes

While students at one Utah college protested on campus, Utah lawmakers used a volleyball match to stage a political “boycott” of their own.

Led by Utah Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan, and Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Davis, lawmakers and activists wore pink, blue and black “BOYcott” T-shirts in the stands of Utah State’s volleyball match against Nevada on Tuesday night in a show of support for the two schools’ decisions to forfeit matches this season in protest of an alleged transgender athlete at another university.

“We commend and stand with the young women in our state, refusing to compete where their rights to equal opportunity and a safe and level playing field are being violated. We are grateful for our University administrators who stood beside our women athletes,” Birkeland said in a written letter signed by 38 state representatives this week.

The letter and demonstration were the latest developments in a season of controversy concerning the San Jose State University women’s volleyball team.

After San Jose State captain Brooke Slusser alleged that one of her teammates was a transgender woman, five schools — including Utah State and Southern Utah — opted to forgo matches against the Spartans in protest.

Boise State University, the University of Wyoming and the University of Nevada also forfeited their matches against SJSU in response.

“The leaders of Utah’s institutions,” Birkeland said in the letter signed by lawmakers, “particularly those receiving public support and funding must defend the rights of female athletes to a safe, level playing field and equal opportunity. Our institutions have the responsibility to assure young women of this basic level of respect and protection. It is unconscionable that we should be placing our female athletes in the position to defend themselves when this responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the leaders of their institutions.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has previously expressed support for Utah State and Southern Utah.

“I stand with the students, coaches and leadership at [SUU] and [USU] in their decision to forgo their women’s volleyball matches against San Jose State,” Cox wrote in a statement on X in early October.

“It is essential that we preserve a space for women to compete fairly and safely,” he continued. “Our female athletes are left grappling with this difficult issue because the NCAA has failed in its responsibility to protect female athletes and women’s sports. It’s time for the NCAA to take this seriously and protect our female student athletes.”

Students and faculty at those schools, meanwhile, have expressed opposition to the decision citing concerns of “delegitimizing” and “stigmatizing” the transgender communities.

On the campus of Southern Utah University last week, students staged a peaceful protest. In a social media post, SUU Stop Queer Hate group, a student-led organization on campus, requested that “SUU issues an official statement apologizing to both SJSU and SUU students for forfeiting the volleyball match on September 14th. Additionally, we ask that SUU provides an explanation from their perspective and recognizes that this statement is long overdue.”

Kaleb Cox, the governor’s son, was in attendance for the walkout alongside other SUU students. He says there has been “deafening silence” from Southern Utah leadership on the decision to cancel the match and it has created uncertainty among many students on campus.

“We’re letting these hypotheticals get in the way of human decency and kindness and compassion,” Kaleb told The Tribune. “[It’s going] toward someone who’s just trying to play a sport that they love with their friends.”

Kaleb also says the match cancellation has made LGBTQ+ students on campus feel unwelcome.

“This is a place on campus where anyone should feel welcome, where we welcome everybody from all walks of life,” Kaleb said. “At this walkout, kind of the prevailing sentiment was, ‘Hey, look, like I came here with the impression that I would be supported and protected by the university,’ and not just my peers.

“It feels kind of like a betrayal to that.”

Isabela De Las Casas is a senior at SUU, and she, too, has felt a sense of betrayal from the university‘s leadership. Her frustrations — and many other students’ — started when the university was forced to remove its Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as well as the Q Center due to the state legislature passing H.B. 261.

The cancellation of the non-conference volleyball match vs. San Jose State just added to the students’ frustrations.

“It‘s like a gut punch,” De Las Casas said. “It feels like SUU is trying to be this inclusive campus, especially with its branding campaign ... SUU is actively trying to show that it’s an accepting space regardless of if you’re Brown, regardless if you’re queer, regardless of whatever you are. They say that if you come here, you will be supported. You will be accepted. You will you will have a chance to succeed just as much as a person next to you. That’s not true in the slightest.”

At this time, neither Southern Utah nor Utah State have released public statements about their decisions to cancel the matches.

But, in an email obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune, Amanda DeRito, Utah State’s associate vice president for strategic communications, wrote that “the decision to forfeit our volleyball game against San Jose State University was difficult and made with great care.”

“We came to this choice after thoughtful discussions within Athletics and with university and state stakeholders, as well as careful consideration of the complex factors and interests at stake,” the email stated.

“… We particularly understand that the decision has already caused some to question USU’s commitment to inclusion, especially for members of our transgender and non-binary communities. We therefore want to reaffirm that our dedication to fostering a supportive, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all remains steadfast. This commitment extends to every member of our university community, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. While the current landscape of athletics can present unique challenges, it’s essential to recognize that these events represent just one part of the broader university experience.”

Utah State President Elizabeth Cantwell received more than a dozen messages citing concerns in the days after the forfeit, according to emails obtained through an open records request.

“Think about what this decision means to LGBTQ+ campus,” one email sent to USU leaders said. “You are actively participating in making campus not only an unwelcoming space for us, but a hostile space. … You have made it clear that the physical and mental safety of your LGBTQ+ students is not nearly as important as it should be. You are losing support, you are losing trust, and if that’s not important enough, you are losing money.”

Another email, authored by a Utah State assistant professor said: “I am a faculty member. I, and many of my students, are LGBTQ+. Many of my students are transgender. I stand with them in saying that I do not agree with this decision. In fact, many students and faculty believe that a decision like this will lead to an even more hostile campus for us—a campus where students already do not have a physical safe space since HB261 and the closure of the Inclusion Center.

“A decision like this means that campus administration is actively declaring that campus is an unwelcome and hostile space for the LGBTQ+ community.”

San Jose State‘s Slusser has joined activist Riley Gaines’ class-action lawsuit against the NCAA, which alleges transgender athlete participation in women’s sports is in violation of Title IX, according to ABC News.

The NCAA’s current policy for transgender athletes is determined on a sport-to-sport basis by a collegiate governing body. In this case, that is USA Volleyball, which requires transgender athletes to notify the organization and to provide “sufficient documentation ... to determine that the applicant has taken the necessary steps to transition to their adopted gender.” That includes lab reports of testosterone levels for athletes over the age of 13.