A transgender volleyball player at a high school in northern California faced significant challenges during a match against a Catholic school on October 12. According to ABC 7, the player was booed and harassed. In response, the athletic director of another school intervened and informed the Catholic school of potential consequences. This incident sparked a statewide issue regarding transgender athletes in women's volleyball.Notre Dame Belmont and Half Moon Bay High School
The October 12 match was hosted by Notre Dame Belmont in Belmont, California, against Half Moon Bay High School. Half Moon Bay rostered a transgender athlete on its girls team. Earlier in the season, Notre Dame Belmont had canceled a match between the two teams due to the transgender athlete.Intervention and Apology
In response to complaints of boos and harassment, Steve Sell, the athletic director of Aragon High School in San Mateo, California, stepped in. As the co-chair of the Peninsula Athletic League Athletic Directors, Sell informed Notre Dame that there could be consequences. Notre Dame Belmont responded with a letter to Sell, apologizing on behalf of those accused of booing. The letter stated that the Catholic school would adhere to a policy of banning spectators who exhibit such behavior. "We have enforced our long-held policy to ban spectators from future games (season and postseason) who harass any individual," the letter stated. "We truly regret and apologize for the inappropriate and unsporting behavior by members of the NBD community at this match. NBD is dedicated to ensuring incidents like this never happen again."High School Controversy
At the high school level, another girls volleyball team forfeited a state playoff match because its opponent "has a male athlete playing for their team." Stone Ridge Christian High School in Merced was scheduled to face San Francisco Waldorf in the Northern California Division 6 tournament. San Francisco Waldorf had a bye into the semifinals as the No. 1 seed. But the Christian school forfeited just before the match. "As many of you know, our girls won on Wednesday and advanced to the state playoffs," the school said via Max Preps. "Unfortunately, we were just informed that our opponent, San Francisco Waldorf, has a male athlete playing for their team. At SRC, we believe God's Word is authoritative and infallible. It is Truth. And as Genesis makes clear, God wonderfully and immutably created each person as male or female. We do not believe sex is changeable, and we do not intend to participate in events that send a different message. We also have a duty and responsibility to care for the health and safety of our athletes. So, after consulting with our students, coaches and staff, we have made the difficult decision to forfeit Saturday's game. Standing for Biblical truth means more than the outcome of a game."College Controversy
At the college level, San Jose State's volleyball team has been at the center of a national media firestorm. The team has a transgender athlete, and a teammate, Brooke Slusser, has joined a lawsuit against the NCAA and filed her own lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference and her own school. Slusser alleges she was deceived about the natural birth sex of her teammate, Blaire Fleming, who is a biological male. The two have continued to play together this season amid the ongoing controversy, but seven matches on their schedule have been forfeited. San Jose State will compete in the Mountain West tournament, but a ruling from a Biden-appointed judge after an emergency hearing in Colorado Thursday could prevent that from happening. A Mountain West spokesperson said it is possible for San Jose State to win the championship if opponents forfeit upcoming tournament games in Las Vegas starting November 27. But federal Judge Kato Crews will deliver a judgment on whether that plan will stand or not, or if the team and transgender player can even compete.Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.
