As a female athlete, I do not consent to playing alongside men in collegiate sports

Another female college athlete has joined the lawsuit against the NCAA, alleging Title IX violations for allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports.  

Brooke Slusser, the starting setter and co-captain of San Jose State University’s NCAA Division One women’s volleyball team, says in the lawsuit she was forced to compete and share a residence with fellow teammate Blaire Fleming. The kicker: Slusser never received advance notice that Fleming is a biological male.  

Another unfortunate case of another woman in college sports who did not consent to living with and playing alongside a man.  

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Male athlete Blaire Fleming is leading SJSU’s women’s volleyball team to extraordinary success. As videos of his superior biological advantage over women surfaced online, NCAA President Charlie Baker sent a letter to the U.S. Senate implying there is nothing to see here. As a former NCAA volleyball player, this entire situation begs the question: Why is the NCAA recklessly disregarding women’s concerns?    

Twenty-three U.S. senators urged NCAA President Charlie Baker to prevent men from playing in women's sports. He took no action. FILE: Baker speaks during a press conference celebrating the 25 year anniversary of the NCAA moving its national office to Indianapolis on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at the NCAA Headquarters in Indianapolis. (Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar/USA TODAY NETWORK)

In August, 23 U.S. senators wrote a letter to Baker urging the NCAA to prohibit male participation in women’s athletics. Several other elected officials, women’s organizations, and NCAA female athletes, myself included, have demanded the same.  

Much of this fiery enthusiasm was sparked by the Lia Thomas controversy, when the NCAA awarded a 6’4" male athlete a women’s National Championship trophy. They also allowed this male athlete into the women’s locker rooms to strip himself in front of female athletes who were changing into their swim gear.  

But the problem of men invading women’s spaces didn’t stop, nor did it start, with Lia Thomas. The reality is that the NCAA, with its extraordinary power over college athletics, has tipped the scales in favor of male athletes in women’s sports.  

Without any underlying research to justify it, the NCAA has compromised women’s sports to the detriment of female athletes around the world. Despite an outcry of public opposition, the NCAA has continued to invite men into women’s private spaces and competition.  

The Fleming-led San Jose State University team is climbing to previously unreached success, recently beating a Big Ten volleyball team for the first time in two decades. As of September 23, the team is one of seven teams in D1 NCAA Volleyball, remaining 8-0 for the first time since 1990.  

Fleming consistently leads the team in scoring and even racked a remarkable 25 kills in a singular match. Videos circulate Twitter/X of Fleming appearing to hit the ball in the face of one of his female opponents for a game-winning kill.  

Fleming is not the only one. A similar instance of a trans-identifying man hitting a volleyball straight into Payton McNabb’s face left her partially paralyzed with likely permanent head and neck damages. 

Despite the clearly dangerous nature of their policies, Baker and the NCAA continue to flee from any responsibility. In their response to the Senate, Baker notes "the NCAA policy seeks to align with other national governing bodies’ policies" and member schools must abide by their state’s regulations.  

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022, at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

However, most of these schools will travel outside of state protection to compete in NCAA competition. Baker also says he would "welcome" a national policy on the topic, looking to Congress for national sport regulation, rather than within his own National Collegiate Athletic Association.  

Shockingly, he took it so far as to acknowledge "schools may also choose to operate in a different way due to institutional values." Not only is this statement something no one had heard before, it is also very misleading.  

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There are no records of the NCAA notifying their member schools if their women’s teams will soon be competing against, or changing in the locker room with, a man. Few knew about Fleming’s true sex until Reduxx uncovered it this past April, nearly four years after his NCAA debut.  

Southern Utah appears to have taken Baker up on the offer almost immediately. The team opted out of their game against Fleming just days after Baker’s letter became public.  

Yes, San Francisco, Saint-Mary’s, Fresno State, Boise State, Colorado State, Wyoming, San Diego State, UNLV, New Mexico, Air Force, Utah State, Nevada, and New Mexico can still choose to protect their female athletes by forfeiting the competition.  

And if a school is committed to the safety and fairness of their female athletes, they should opt out if they are aware of male athletes on opposing teams. But universities should not hold their breath expecting the NCAA to offer the respect of prior notification of male participation. 

Baker’s scheme simply doesn’t work, and he knows it. The reality is that a school would possibly forfeit earnings, records and even NCAA tournament appearances if they withdrew their female athletes from competing against a man. The entity is effectively forcing schools to knowingly place female athletes in harm’s way.  

Women’s voices in college sports matter. We fought hard for – and deserve – the right to say no when we do not consent to playing alongside men. It’s time to hold the NCAA responsible for this reckless disregard for women’s safety and fair play in college sports. 

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Macy Petty is an NCAA college volleyball player and a leader of Young Women for America, the collegiate program of Concerned Women for America.