A variety of women’s collegiate sports teams have taken bold actions in the ongoing debate about matchups against transgender athletes by forfeiting games against opponents with transitioned females on their roster.

Three college women’s volleyball teams have forfeited their matchups against San Jose State University since the start of the fall season, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

The most recent scrapped matchup occurred on Tuesday when the University of Wyoming Cowgirls announced that they would not compete this weekend against the San Jose State Spartans.

After a lengthy discussion, the University of Wyoming will not play its scheduled conference match against San José State University,” read a statement released by the team. “Per Mountain West Conference policy, the Conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Wyoming.”

While they did not cite a specific reason for the forfeit, it is widely believed to be due to San Jose State’s right-side hitter, Blaire Fleming. Ms. Fleming is a senior student who transitioned from male to female before starting her athletic career in high school. She has been playing on the San Jose team for nearly three years, but her status as a transgender athlete was not made widely known until an expose on her was released in April by women’s rights newspaper Reduxx.

“It is disappointing that our SJSU student athletes, all of who are in full compliance with NCAA and Mountain West rules and regulations, are being denied opportunities to compete,” read a statement from SJSU officials provided to the Chronicle. “We are committed to supporting our student athletes through these challenges and in their ability to compete in an inclusive, safe and respectful environment.”

Since the start of the 2024 Fall season, two other teams, Boise State University and Southern Utah University, have forfeited their September matchups against the Spartans. The forfeitures have benefited the Spartans, who currently have a 10-0 record. 

Governor Gordon of Wyoming took to social media to heap praise on the Cowgirls.

“I am in full support of the decision by @wyoathletics to forego playing its volleyball match against San Jose State. It is important we stand for integrity and fairness in female athletics,” Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon wrote on X.

The controversy surrounding Fleming’s status on the SJSU team has led advocacy group Concerned Women of America to make efforts to “safeguard” women’s collegiate sports. They recently sent a letter to Colorado State University’s athletic director urging them to forfeit to upcoming matches this fall against the SJSU Spartans.

“We want to protect the integrity of women’s sports but also the safety of these female athletes,” a CWA legislative assistant and NCAA volleyball player, Macy Petty, said to Fox News. “Many of these schools were unaware that there was a male athlete on this team until this news article came out in April.”

“We just want to make sure that these schools know exactly what is going on in this athletic program because the NCAA and SJSU had not previously given them the decency to even let them know what was happening.”