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International

Multiple women’s college volleyball teams forfeit matches rather than face male opponent

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7 minute read

From LifeSiteNews

By Sarah Holliday

Southern Utah, Boise State, and Wyoming universities forfeited women’s volleyball matches against San José State over the inclusion of a male on the female team, sparking Christian non-profit Concerned Women for America to launch a lawsuit against San José State.

Both Southern Utah University (SUU) and Boise State University’s (BSU) female volleyball teams made the decision to refuse competing against a team with a male-born player.

San José State University’s (SJSU) Blaire Fleming (born Brayden Fleming) is the 6’1 biological male competing on the SJSU female volleyball team – the individual various outlets have attributed to the school’s undefeated winning streak. However, after reassessing their initial decision, the University of Wyoming (UW) has added itself to the list of schools demanding fairness and safety in women’s sports.

When UW first learned of the transgender-identifying opponent, they first decided to move forward  with their October 5 game. But not long after BSU chose to forfeit, “It appears [UW] … had a change-of-heart,” wrote OutKick’s Dan Zaksheske in response to the team announcing they would, in fact, not compete.

SUU was the first school to opt out of play against SJSU in a preseason matchup and BSU was the first to cancel conference play. Both teams did not explicitly state their reason for forfeiting, and UW also kept their public statement vague. They shared in a statement from Tuesday:

After a lengthy discussion, the University of Wyoming will not play its scheduled conference match against San Jose State University. Per Mountain West Conference policy, the conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Wyoming.

But as Zaksheske added, “While Wyoming is the latest school to cancel a match against San Jose State, don’t be surprised if more schools follow suit.”

It turns out SJSU chose to initially hide the fact that Fleming is a biological male – from both his own teammates and other competitors. This reality, alongside an increasing number of colleges refusing to compete, has not merely sparked controversy, but action as well.

The conservative Christian non-profit Concerned Women for America (CWA) has filed a complaint against SJSU. “We want to protect the integrity of women’s sports but also the safety of these female athletes,” said Macy Petty, a CWA legislative assistant and a NCAA volleyball athlete.

According to Petty, the issue is rooted in the fact that “many of these schools were unaware that there was a male athlete on” the female team. “We just want to make sure that these schools know exactly what is going on in this athletic program because the NCAA and SJSU had not previously given them the decency to even let them know what was happening.”

In a comment to The Washington Stand, Doreen Denny, CWA senior advisor, stated, “What is happening in NCAA women’s volleyball is a game changer.” As she went on to say, this is the first time we’re seeing “NCAA member institutions … taking a stand against the NCAA’s trans athlete policy that directly discriminates against female athletes and are upholding the integrity of women’s sports.”

CWA CEO Penny Nance also praised UW’s decision in a statement, emphasizing her gratitude that the university “has taken seriously the issues of unfairness and discrimination against female athletes when males compete in women’s sports.” She added, “No NCAA member institution should have to be making this choice.”

In addition to CWA’s complaint, former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines has filed a lawsuit against SJSU. Included as a plaintiff in this lawsuit is Brooke Slusser, a player on the SJSU volleyball team. The document reads:

Due to the NCAA’s Transgender Eligibility Policies which permit Fleming to play on the SJSU women’s volleyball team and which led to SJSU recruiting Fleming, giving Fleming a scholarship, and allowing Fleming to be in positions to violate Brooke’s right to bodily privacy, Brooke has suffered physical and emotional injuries, embarrassment, humiliation, emotional distress, mental anguish and suffering.

In comments shared with OutKick, Slusser said, “It’s crazy to say, but it was an easy decision for me to join because it’s something I truly believe in.… This is something that so many people do care about. It’s just that so many people are scared to talk about it.”

“While these schools have not given a full explanation for their decisions to forfeit matches against San Jose State University,” concluded Denny, “their actions are speaking louder than words.”

This article is reprinted with permission from the Family Research Council, publishers of The Washington Stand at washingtonstand.com.

Automotive

Trump Must Act to Halt the Tesla Terror Campaign

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Christopher F. Rufo

The Left’s splintering violence threatens a veto over democratic power.

Elon Musk finds himself at the fulcrum of American life. His companies are leading the field across the automotive, space, robotics, and AI industries. His ownership of the social platform X gives him significant influence over political discourse. And his DOGE initiative represents the single greatest threat to the permanent administrative state. Musk is arguably the most powerful man in the United States, including President Trump.

The Left has taken notice. Left-wing activists have long practiced a tactic called “power mapping,” which entails diagramming the opposing political movement and identifying “chokepoints.” They have designated Musk as one such chokepoint. This month, activists claimed to have organized 500 protests against Elon Musk’s Tesla—dubbed the “Tesla Takedown”—with demonstrations outside sales lots and a series of incidents of vandalism, property destruction, and fire bombings. A pattern has also emerged of individuals scratching or spray-painting parked Teslas, looking to intimidate owners and potential owners or just to express hatred of Musk.

Precedents exist for this kind of escalation. In the 1970s, following the frustrations of the civil rights era, left-wing splinter groups launched targeted terror campaigns and symbolic acts of violence. They bombed the U.S. Capitol, assassinated police officers, and even self-immolated in imitation of Buddhist monks. We may be entering a similar phase today, as the collapse of the Black Lives Matter movement gives rise to radicalized left-wing factions willing to embrace violence. If so, Musk’s Tesla may be the Number One target.

What, exactly, motivates this campaign? At its core, the Left appears to be shifting from an “antiracist” narrative to an anti-wealth one—from a racial frame to an economic one. The sentiment driving the Tesla Takedown is rooted in economic resentment and a desire for leveling. Musk has become a symbol of everything progressives oppose: oligarchy, capitalism, wealth, and innovation. These, in their view, are marks of the oppressor. They scorn the futuristic Cybertruck, SpaceX rockets, and Optimus robots, believing that such creations should be dismantled and repurposed into chassis for public buses or I-beams for public housing.

A certain element of left-wing Luddism is at work here, but the greater part of these activists’ motives is resentment. Musk represents the triumph of the great man of industry, something the Left believes should not exist.

Unfortunately, the Tesla Takedown may succeed. The Left has likely identified Tesla as a chokepoint because it’s easier to dissuade consumers from buying a car they associate with a malevolent political cause—or fear might be vandalized—than it is to persuade them to buy one in support of Musk and DOGE. When it comes to purchasing a Tesla, fear among the average American is a more powerful motivator than enthusiasm among the MAGA base.

Some evidence suggests that the campaign has made an economic impact. Tesla stock peaked around the time of President Trump’s inauguration and since then has lost approximately 40 percent of its value. Musk has accumulated more power than any other American, but that means that he has more points of vulnerability. His wealth and power are tied to his companies—most importantly, his consumer car company, which depends on individual purchases rather than institutional contracts (like SpaceX).

Trump has signaled that he understands this dilemma. He appeared at the White House in a Tesla and has voiced support for Musk’s firms. Justice Department prosecutors—and their allies in state government—must translate this support into policy by identifying and punishing those who destroy property as a means of political intimidation.

The administration needs to make clear that radical left-wing factions cannot use violence to wield a veto over democratic governance. If the partnership between Trump and Musk is to produce meaningful results, it must be backed by the full protection of the law.

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International

Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ defense shield must be built now, Lt. Gen. warns

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MXM logo  MxM News

Quick Hit:

Lt. Gen. Trey Obering (Ret.), former director of the Missile Defense Agency, is calling on Congress and the Department of Defense to move quickly in support of President Donald Trump’s vision for a next-generation missile defense system—dubbed the “Golden Dome.” In a Fox News op-ed, Obering argues that a constellation of up to 2,000 satellite interceptors could defend against modern threats from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran at a fraction of the cost of today’s ground-based systems.

Key Details:

  • The Golden Dome initiative will be presented to President Trump following his executive order mandating the development of advanced national missile defense.

  • Obering says a space-based system, enabled by AI and peer-to-peer networking, could intercept missiles earlier in their trajectory, significantly enhancing U.S. deterrence capabilities.

  • Estimated cost for the full satellite constellation would be less than the price of today’s 44 ground interceptors and global radar network.

Diving Deeper:

In a March 31 op-ed for Fox News, retired Lt. Gen. Trey Obering, who directed the Missile Defense Agency under President George W. Bush, laid out a detailed argument for why President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense shield is both technologically feasible and strategically necessary. “We can do this — and we must,” Obering wrote, emphasizing the urgency of the moment.

According to Obering, the current U.S. missile defense architecture—reliant on ground-based interceptors and radar systems—faces serious limitations in light of the increasingly sophisticated missile technologies being developed by U.S. adversaries. “Our existing missile-defense system cannot easily defeat some of our adversaries’ more modern, sophisticated weapons,” he noted.

The “Golden Dome” proposal envisions a network of up to 2,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, operating as both sensors and interceptors. The concept, which builds on Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative and the shelved “Brilliant Pebbles” program, is now achievable thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, satellite production, and space-based communications. “Each satellite has the knowledge of every other satellite,” Obering explained. “They all serve as both threat sensors and hit-to-kill interceptors.”

Obering pointed to real-world applications of this model in Ukraine, where a peer-to-peer software system—built using concepts from Uber—has helped the Ukrainian military effectively target Russian positions. A similar concept could be applied to satellite-based missile defense. “The networking concept has already proven its effectiveness on the battlefield in Ukraine,” he said.

Importantly, Obering stressed that while no missile shield is perfect, the deterrent power of such a system would be undeniable. “The capability and capacity now exists to defeat single and multiple missile launches, thereby creating strategic deterrence — or ‘peace through strength,’ in the words of both Reagan and Trump,” he wrote.

Cost is another key factor. Obering argued that this next-gen system would come in at a lower price than the 44 ground interceptors currently deployed in Alaska and California. He cited SpaceX’s Starlink, which already has over 7,000 satellites in orbit, as proof of concept for rapid and scalable deployment. “For a defense system charged with safeguarding countless lives and trillions of dollars in assets, this would be money well spent,” he said.

He also warned that bureaucratic delays must not slow the project. “We cannot allow unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles to stifle our progress,” Obering urged. He called on Congress to expedite confirmations of key defense leaders and fully fund the Golden Dome initiative, with the Missile Defense Agency as the lead coordinating body.

With China racing ahead in artificial intelligence and space defense, Obering concluded with a stark warning: “Golden Dome must be built first; the alternative is too terrible to contemplate.”

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