An Issue of Safety and Fairness: NV Gov. Backs Women's Boycott of Transgender Volleyball Players

The left loves to talk about fairness and equity, don't they? By "equity," they usually mean "taking resources (usually money) away from people who have earned it and giving it to people who have not," and by "fairness," they usually mean favoring one group over another based on irrational and innate characteristics, like skin color - or gender identity.

But when it comes to something that is staggeringly unfair, something that is unjust and possibly even dangerous, that involves two "favored" groups - in this case, women and "transgender" athletes - they vapor-lock. But in the end, they always seem to go with the more marginal group, and in this case, the left is all-in on their denial of the reality that allowing men to compete against women on women's sports teams is cruelly unfair and can be dangerous.

Several women's collegiate volleyball teams have refused to play against the San Jose State women's volleyball team because that team includes a man cosplaying as a woman - and now Nevada's Governor, Republican Joe Lombardo, is throwing his support behind a Nevada team that has joined the boycott. This is the right move.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo expressed his support for the Nevada Wolf Pack women’s volleyball players who refuse to compete against San Jose State, which has a transgender woman on their roster.
Lombardo backed players in a statement on X, adding that "No student athlete should ever be pressured to play a game where they don’t feel safe — period."
"As I’ve said previously, I believe there are competition and safety concerns with this issue, and it’s irresponsible for the NCAA to put student athletes in a position of balancing their personal safety against the schools, competition and sports they love," Lombardo’s statement read.
"The student athletes at the University of Nevada, Reno have determined that they do not want to play against San Jose State, and I wholeheartedly respect the decision of the players.

The student athletes at the University of Nevada, Reno have determined that they do not want to play against San Jose State, and I wholeheartedly respect the decision of the players.

No student athlete should ever be pressured to play a game where they don’t feel safe — period. pic.twitter.com/YuDtq8eAcV
— Governor Joe Lombardo (@JosephMLombardo) October 15, 2024

It's not just a matter of feeling safe. There are very real safety concerns here, as my colleague Bob Hoge recently informed us, and as activist Riley Gaines has been speaking about for some time.

Female Volleyball Player Injured by Transgender Athlete Speaks out, Still Experiencing Symptoms

Watch the clip of Payton McNabb getting spiked in the face by a male competing with the women. Then watch her testimony she gave today for the first time publicly. I was honored to stand alongside her in NC to continue the fight to protect women's sports. pic.twitter.com/mvJmwprkaX
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 20, 2023

Governor Lombardo's support is no doubt welcome to the Nevada Wolf Pack, but it is going to take more than a few elected officials speaking up to change this. The NCAA is going to have to address this fundamental issue of fairness and, yes, safety. It's inconceivable that they do otherwise, but the inconceivable seems to be routine these days.

The short-term solution seems to be, sadly, just what the Nevada Wolf Pack is doing. Refuse to participate. Refuse to take part in a fundamentally unfair system. Refuse to accept the unfairness - and the very real risks of injury.

This isn't subject to debate. It's a matter of biology. Men have considerable advantages over women in strength, speed, and endurance; they have more muscle mass, stronger bones, and greater lung capacity. These are facts; unlike a certain Supreme Court justice, I am a biologist by education and know perfectly well what a woman is. I also know that these differences exist even before puberty; I need only look at my 3-year-old grandson "Moose" to see that.

The converse to this issue - "transgender men" playing on a men's league - has only happened once that I'm aware of, and it didn't end well for the "transgender men."

That "Spanish transgender men" soccer team may be mildly amusing, but they aren't depriving any male players of awards and titles because regardless of how they "identify," they are not up to the male par; they do not have the muscle mass, strength, speed or endurance of male players, so they are losing - a lot. The same can't be said for allowing men on women's teams. This practice doesn't pass the stupid test, and if it takes a continued refusal to participate to end it, then that's what needs to happen.