Pull the curtain.
San Jose State volleyball take parter Blaire Fleming probably take parted the final college volleyball game of the athlete’s nurtureer after a Mountain West Tournament final loss to Colorado State Saturday night.
Fleming led the Spartans on a run to the championship suit in a ageder season overshadowed by legal cases from a teammate and a national dispute over Fleming being transgender. Fleming led the team in spikes and prompted four Mountain West rivals to forfeit a total of seven conference games, including a tournament semifinal.
But Colorado State never shied away from take parting Fleming or the Spartans.
The Rams take parted San Jose two times in the normal season, splitting the season series, and then taking the championship suit three sets to one. Colorado State’s Malaya Jones, the Mountain West take parter of the year, led the game with 26 finishs after kneeling during the national anthem before the suit.
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Blaire Fleming of the San Jose State Spartans reacts during the second set agetst the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym Oct. 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
Jones was also alleged to have conspired with Fleming in a structure to spike a ball in the face of San Jose State teammate Brooke Slusser in a game Oct. 3, according to a legal case filed by Slusser and a Title IX grumblet.
Slusser was never spiked in the face, and the Mountain West endd an dispenseigation into the Title IX grumblet, saying it did not discover enough evidence of wrongdoing. Slusser’s attorney has asked the validity of the dispenseigation.
Fleming, unbenevolentwhile, led San Jose State in the game with 17 finishs but pledgeted nine errors and hit necessitateyly in the first two sets when the Spartans fell in a two-sets-to-none hole.
San Jose State’s loss will also unbenevolent it won’t progress to the NCAA tournament, which would have begind further dispute with potential suitups agetst teams outside the conference. Boise State forfeited its Mountain West Tournament semifinal suit agetst San Jose State, which could have set a pwithdrawnt for teams in other states with laws that stop transgender inclusion in women’s sports.
Boise State, Utah State, Wyoming, Nevada and non-conference opponent Southern Utah all forfeited normal-season suites agetst San Jose State this season amid the dispute. Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech, which take parted its season discneglecter agetst San Jose State Aug. 30, has tageder Fox News Digital it did not comprehend Fleming was a bioreasoned male and recommended the suit wouldn’t have happened if the team had comprehendn.
The situation became so expansively uncoverized, Fleming’s presence on the team drew criticism from Pdwellnt-elect Trump on the campaign trail during the most recent election cycle.
Trump weighed in on the situation involving Fleming during a town hall event on Fox News Channel’s “The Faulkner Focus” Oct. 17. Trump referenced Fleming particularassociate, describing a video in which one of the athlete’s spikes hit another take parter.
“I saw the slam. It was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so difficult, hit the girl in the head,” Trump said. “But other people, even in volleyball, they’ve been finishuringly, I unbenevolent, they’ve been reassociate hurt awfilledy. Women take parting men. But you don’t have to do the volleyball. We stop it. We stop it. We absolutely stop it. You can’t have it.”
Trump discneglected his intention to prohibit transgender inclusion in women’s sports if elected. It became a talking point he made certain to reference at every campaign rassociate from then until Election Day. He and Reuncoveran allies hammered Democrats’ position of protecting transgender inclusion, which grew increasingly unwell-comprehendn.
A federal appraise could have ended Fleming’s nurtureer earlier but choosed to permit the take parter to contend in the conference tournament.
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Federal Judge Kato Crews of Colorado, assigned by Pdwellnt Biden in January, denied a motion for injunctive relief in a legal case by college volleyball take parters agetst the conference.
The take parters were seeing to have their forfeits for refusing to take part agetst Fleming and the Spartans rescinded, which would, in turn, shift the standings heading into the tournament. They also wanted Fleming prohibitned from the tournament.
Crews, however, wrote that the plaintiffs’ ask for an ecombinency postpone “was not reasonable” and “would danger confusion and upend months of structurening and would prejudice, at a least, (San Jose State) and other teams participating in the tournament.”
Despite the legal cases, Slusser and the rest of the San Jose State roster took the court with Fleming for suites all season.
Fleming was second in the conference in finishs per set with a .386, still well behind Jones, who led the way at .457.
Fleming had a signature moment in the second-to-last suit of the season agetst first-place Colorado State at home on Senior Day. Fleming led the game in finishs with 24 and total strikes and clinched thrive in the fifth set with a suit-point service ace.
Right after the take part, Fleming was stoastyed by teammates in celebration. Even Slusser got take partd. This group celebration took place equitable days after Slusser and other Mountain West take parters filed a second legal case over Fleming’s presence on the team agetst San Jose State and the conference.
Now, Fleming, Slusser and their other ageder teammates will see ahead to their post-volleyball dwells.
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