University of Nevada, Reno women’s volleyball press conference following the loss to San Jose State

Players from the University of Nevada, Reno Women’s Volleyball team held a press conference Saturday to address their school’s reluctance to lose a game against a team with a transgender player.

Along with former NCAA swimmer and OutKick contributor Riley Gaines, several players talked about the situation the day they were scheduled to face San Jose State.

The program officially announced would lose Friday’s game due to not having enough players, but the players told their athletic department they didn’t want to play San Jose State weeks early.

Wolf Pack captain Sia Liilii broke down in tears from the moment she stepped onto the podium as she recounted her experience telling school officials she didn’t want to compete against a transgender player.

“When the news broke I was stunned, as were many of my colleagues. That’s not what we signed up for,” said an emotional Liilii.

Liilii referenced a statement the university released on Oct. 13 saying the program plans to face San Jose State despite the players voting to opt out.

“Our university had made a decision for us. They released a statement on our behalf saying we will play. We were not consulted, we were not given a voice and we did not agree,” said Liilii. “It hurt to know that our university was putting us in a position that could hurt us. Me and my teammates were really emotional and I’m not sure, I can’t put into words what it feels like to face something like that and know that we’re all on our own.”

Nevada previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital confirming that the players requested to forfeit the match, but did not have the authority to do so themselves.

“The majority of the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball team issued a statement to the university informing it that the team has decided to forgo its scheduled match against San José State University. While players are not authorized to sit out the game, this decision is one that only the university and our athletic department can officially make,” the statement read.

The university added that any player was free to sit out the game without consequence.

Liilii said Saturday that when her teammates approached school officials expressing their the desire to lose the match, they were instructed about “misunderstanding the science” and asked to reconsider their position.

“We felt safe and fired,” Liilii said, crying. “We met with our school officials to give them our new team statement, but they didn’t want to hear it either. We are told that we are not educated enough and that we do not understand science. We were told to reconsider our position.”

In addition to her university, Liilii also called out the Mountain West Conference and the NCAA, saying the institutions are “failing us.”

Nevada sophomore Masyn Navarro claimed her teammates were told to “keep quiet” about the controversy during the press conference.

“It shouldn’t be so hard to stand up for women. However, we will now take this opportunity to stand up as a team because some of us have been told to shut up,” Navarro said.

Nevada freshman Kinsley Singleton said her teammates have had several meetings in recent weeks and shared their fears of potential injuries if they had to play against a transgender opponent.

The program previously said it could not forfeit the game because it would be a violation of state law. Article I, Section 24 of the Nevada Constitution states that “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by this state or any of its political subdivisions because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin.”

However, that constitution was revised in 2022 when Nevada voted to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which added gender identity to the list of protections.

Nevada state Sen. Pat Spearman, a North Las Vegas Democrat who co-sponsored the bill to put it on the ballot, said the law helped transgender people maintain their identities.

“As a state university, dismissal for reasons involving gender identity or expression could constitute discrimination in itself and violate the Nevada Constitution,” the university’s statement read.

However, after the controversy gained national attention and it was announced that the game had been moved from Nevada to California’s Bay Area, the program eventually announced an official forfeit once it became clear that it would not have enough players to compete.

Nevada is the fifth team to lose a game against San Jose State, joining Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State.

The cancellations come with a San Jose State player embroiled in a lawsuit against the NCAA for being forced to compete with a transgender teammate who is still on the team.

San Jose State player Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit led by Gaines against the NCAA over its gender identity policies.

Slusser joined the suit because he claims he had to share a court, a locker room and even a room on overnight trips with teammate Blaire Fleming, without Fleming ever being told he was biologically male.

San Jose State responded to the seizure in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“All of our athletes comply with NCAA and Mountain West Conference policies and are eligible to play under those organizations’ rules. We will continue to take steps to prioritize the health and safety of our students as they pursue their earned opportunities to compete,” the statement said.

Nevada players, including Liilii and Sierra Bernard, wrote an op-ed for Fox News Digital Friday, praising former President Trump for his stance on supporting a ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports.

“President Trump has our back, and this election is about more than politics, but about leaders who will stand with women on and off the court, defending our right to compete safely and fairly,” the players wrote. “As proud female athletes, we will continue to fight for fairness on the field and in women’s sports. But it shouldn’t be a fight we have to fight alone.”