Security officers at the Air Force Academy stopped a fan from wearing a shirt that read, “Keep Women’s Sports Female” to a volleyball game between Air Force and San Jose State University (SJSU).
SJSU has a transgender player, Blaire Fleming, on their team.
In a video obtained by OutKick, security informed John Kopecky, a fan who also happens to be an Air Force grad, to unzip his sweatshirt so they could read what his shirt said. Once they saw the message, they told him he could not remove his sweatshirt during the match, or he would be asked to leave.
“They’ve never made me unzip a hoody to get in before, so that was unusual,” Kopecky told OutKick.
Volleyball games involving San Jose State have seen drastic increases in security. At first, SJSU began adding extra officers to home and road games as the national debate over Fleming’s presence on the roster heated up. Then, the school increased security again after a threat was made against Brooke Slusser, an SJSU player who joined a lawsuit against the NCAA after the school allegedly refused to divulge that her teammate was a man.
Kopecky says he was monitored throughout the game.
“I saw security pointing me out to the superintendent [and] the commandant,” he explained. “I could kind of see out of the corner of my eye they were pointing at where I was sitting.”
Kopecky noticed other things, such as a sign declaring no signs would be allowed instead of just unapproved signs. He says the fan code of conduct, advising spectators of the rules, also seemed more prominently placed.
“They brought out a big board with all these rules about fan conduct that may have been there in the past, but I’ve never seen it [displayed] right at the door,” he said.
In their statement to OutKick, the Air Force Academy did not address specific actions taken by security at the game.
“Air Force Athletics takes necessary measures to provide a safe environment at all home athletic events for players, coaches, staff and fans,” the statement read.
Watching Fleming play alongside female athletes convinced Kopecky that the male player had obvious athletic advantages.
“It was just like, ‘Wow, there’s something you don’t see every day at a women’s volleyball match.’ … [Fleming was] strikingly more athletic than normal,” he said.
So far, five teams have decided to boycott their matches against SJSU due to safety and fairness concerns. Nevada, the fifth team to boycott, is currently in a standoff with its own school. While the players took a vote and decided to boycott the game, the administration disregarded the player vote and insisted that the game go on.
As of this writing, the players remain determined to boycott the match.
SJSU is set to face Nevada on October 26.
