"Not difficult"-Riley Gaines slams San Jose State University women's volleyball team's 9-0 win for inclusion of alleged trans player Blaire Fleming

Riley Gaines slammed the San Jose State University women's volleyball team's victory over Fresno State, due to the inclusion of reported transgender athlete Blaire Fleming. Gaines has ended her NCAA swimming career but continues to work for women's safety in sports.

The former NCAA swimmer had shared the 200m-yard freestyle pool with Lia Thomas, a transgender athlete, tying fifth with her and losing the medal to the latter in 2022. Since then, Gaines has been advocating against the inclusion of biological male athletes in women's sports. She was one of the 16 women who filed a legal case against the NCAA in March 2024.

The former University of Kentucky swimmer recently shared her views on the San Jose State University women's volleyball team's victory with Blaire Fleming's effort (9-0). She took to her and wrote:

"It's probably not overly difficult to be 9-0 when you have a man on your team lol"

Fleming, the outside and right-side hitter redshirt junior, can spike a ball at 80 mph (unlikely in women's volleyball), first noticed by her teammate Brooke Slusser. She faced criticism from Slusser for having an unfair advantage over opponents.

Recently, Southern Utah women's volleyball team also canceled a game against the Spartans over the gender controversy. However, the University of Wyoming agreed to face the Californian team on 5 October 2024.

Riley Gaines commended Brooke Slusser for joining the lawsuit against the NCAA

Riley Gaines speaks during a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump; Source: Getty

Brooke Slusser joined Riley Gaines in a lawsuit to challenge the NCAA's inclusion of transgender athletes in accordance with Title IX. The lawsuit states that allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports doesn't align with Title IX's purpose of safeguarding women's rights.

Gaines took to her X to appreciate the SJSU athlete's move and wrote:

"Current teammate of Blaire Fleming (male) at @SanJoseStateVB joins our lawsuit against the NCAA."

Slusser, who transferred from Alabama last year, was unaware of the outside hitter being a transgender athlete and shared rooms with her. Despite the SJSU recording historic wins with the former's efforts, Slusser was concerned about women's safety. Her attorney, Bill Bock, noted, via Outkick:

"One thing that's important in this case is really the physical safety issues in volleyball. And that's what they're facing in practice every day. So it's just a crazy, misguided policy that steals athletic dreams from women and gives them to men, and at the same time, puts women's health and safety in danger."

Slusser also noted that the SJSU officials strictly warned the athletes against discussing Fleming's inclusion with anybody outside the team. The information was also hidden from student-athletes who joined the Spartans in 2024.