"Blame the women"- Riley Gaines reacts as SJSU coach slams other teams for forfeiting their matches due the Blaire Fleming controversy

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Dec 02, 2024 02:06 GMT

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Riley Gaines recently reacted to the statements of the San Jose State University's coach over the Blaire Fleming controversy. Todd Kress has criticized the other educational institutions for boycotting their matches against the San Jose State Spartans at the NCAA Mountain West Conference League.

In his conversation with Fox News, Kress mentioned,

"I will not sugarcoat our reality for the last two months. Our team prepared and was ready to play each match according to established Mountain West and NCAA rules of play. We did not take away anyone’s participation opportunities."

"Sadly, others who for years have played this same team without incident chose not to play us this season. To be clear, we did not celebrate a single win by forfeiture. Instead, we braced for the fallout. Each forfeiture announcement unleashed appalling, hateful messages individuals chose to send directly to our student-athletes, our coaching staff and many associated with our program," Kress further addded.

Gaines reacted to the statements by posting on her X handle [formerly Twitter],

"Coach of trans SJSU volleyball player blames teams that forfeited for 'appalling, hateful messages' to players. Ah, yes. Blame the women for wanting safe and fair sport. Not the narcissistic man. One man's feelings > all women's safety"

Riley Gaines also supported Boise State University, who forfeited their semifinal fixture against San Jose State University a few days ago. Despite making it to the finals, the San Jose State Spartans eventually lost the championships to the Colorado State University.

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Riley Gaines' take on teams forfeiting matches against SJSU

Riley Gaines' take on athletes forfeiting their matches against SJSU [Image for Representational Purposes] [Image Source : Getty]

Riley Gaines has been supportive of the boycott campaign against San Jose State University over the inclusion of a reported trans-athlete Blaire Fleming. The University of Wyoming, Utah State University, Boise State University, Southern Utah University, and the University of Nevada forfeited their matches against the San Jose State Spartans in the Mountain West Conference League.

When the University of Wyoming boycotted their match against SJSU for the second time, Gaines reacted to the same by posting on her X handle,

"The University of Wyoming has forfeited a second match against SJSU. Good—keep holding the line! This means SJSU now has 7 illegitimate wins on their record due to other teams forfeiting."

Gaines had also called out the University of Nevada administration for not supporting their players in their boycott against the San Jose State University. She wrote on her X handle,

"INSANE response from @unevadareno after the women's volleyball team decided to forfeit their match against SJSU. This is the intimidation & emotional blackmail that girls face when they stand up for themselves. Hold the line girls, @NevadaWVB. We're all behind you! BOYcott"

Riley Gaines had also supported San Jose State University's vice-captain Brooke Slusser, and the former assistant Melissa Batie-Smoose, who spoke out against the participation of Blaire Fleming.