'Horrible' moments exposed for UNR volleyball players when they were roped into the SJSU Title IX scandal
In fall 2024, the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) women's volleyball team fell under national scrutiny when it was entwined in the San Jose State (SJSU) trans athlete scandal.
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that it had found SJSU in violation of Title IX on Wednesday, and weeks earlier it announced that UNR is now under investigation for potential Title IX violations for its handling of a scheduled match against SJSU in 2024.
Fox News Digital has obtained exclusive details related to UNR's handling of the situation via testimony from those involved, and public records provided by April Chainey, the mother of a UNR player at the time.
On Oct. 7, 2024, UNR administrators sat down its women's volleyball players in a meeting. The purpose was to inform the players that the team would not be forfeiting an upcoming home match against SJSU. At the time, four other schools had already forfeited to the Spartans amid a national controversy involving trans player Blaire Fleming.
UNR players privately expressed a desire to forfeit as well, but informed them that wouldn't be the school's position at the meeting.
UNR did not have a Title IX officer at that meeting, according to an Oct. 12, 2024 email sent by the school's athletics director Stephanie Rempe.
"Our Title IX Officer was not present," read Rempe's email in response to an inquiry by UNR Chancellor Charlton.
Former UNR women's volleyball captain Sia Liilii called the meeting a "horrible" experience.
"This meeting was horrible," Liilii told Fox News Digital.
"It took place after the school decided to make a choice for us and it was uncomfortable. They told us there was no advantage by Blaire because she was on estrogen and testosterone blockers in order to level the playing field. A bunch of the girls and I expressed not wanting to play for the reasons of safety, fairness, and an opportunity for women in sports being taken away by a male athlete. Instead of supporting this decision we were told that maybe we should think about all the ‘facts’ first in case we wanted to reconsider.
"It was very concerning that this meeting had no title IX officer and we were given a bunch of ‘facts’ that were not backed in truth."
Chainey said she was "traumatized" as a mother. So she filed a Title IX complaint to the ED's Office of Civil Rights.
"I just couldn't believe it," Chainey told Fox News Digital.
"UNR Athletics Department discriminated by not suggesting or offering a Title IX officer to be present… I was mad, really made. I felt like there was nobody there to protect the teams and the players… they really dismissed [the player's voices] because their voice did not fit in the NCAA gender ideology agenda…
"I was disgusted when I saw that happening."
After UNR announced in October it would play SJSU, the Wolfpack players did not back down.
They went public with their intent to not play the game.
The school had a national controversy on its hands, all while the volleyball season was still going on.
Marshi Smith, a former NCAA swimmer and co-founder of the Independent Council on Women's Sports (ICONS), is a Nevada resident who also leads the Nevada Lieutenant Governor's task force on the protection of women's sports. During that season, the UNR players reached out to her to share the alleged treatment they received from the university as they sought to escape their match with SJSU.
"There was sweeping intimidation for the girls on UNR's volleyball team to stand down on their decision not to play San Jose State University. There were multiple different tactics, from emotional blackmail to even insinuation that legal disputes could be brought," Smith alleged.
"It was unclear to them exactly what that meant. But when someone in a position of authority threatens you with various consequences for you standing up for your rights, that's a really serious thing."
UNR previously confirmed to Fox News Digital that it had raised the concern of "legal issues" to the players if they did not play the match.
SJSU VOLLEYBALL TEAM FAILS TO MAKE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT IN FIRST SEASON AFTER TRANS ATHLETE SCANDAL
"University administrators met with the Nevada volleyball team and discussed scenarios of what could happen if they chose not to play. One of the scenarios that was discussed revolved around possible legal issues for violating the Nevada Constitution," UNR said last January.
The state's constitution was revised in 2022, when Democrat lawmakers voted to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment, which added gender identity to its list of diversity classifications that are protected under state law.
After the players went public with their intent not to play SJSU in October, UNR had a national media landmine to navigate.
During correspondence about media requests and interview, UNR Assistant AD of Strategic Communications Aaron Juarez told Rempe he had a "concern" about the players meeting with conservative influencer Riley Gaines and Idaho lawmakers for photo-ops.
"My main concern isn't with media talking to Shannon, it is Idaho legislators and other types (i.e., the Idaho Freedom Foundation) connecting with [redacted] and any of our players, or the players connecting with them for photo ops and such. Or that our team sports these shirts from Riley Gaines," the email wrote.
The players ultimately did meet with and take photos with Gaines, and GOP politicians, including Tulsi Gabbard, former U.S. Senate candidate and military veteran Sam Brown and Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.
An Oct. 24 email from Rempe to Senior Associate Athletic Director of Administration Casey Stangel appearing to outline the UNR athletic department's upcoming priorities lists "Next steps transgender education" as the final point.
Fox News Digital has reached out to UNR to request clarification for why the point was on the agenda and what those next steps were.
The university stated in communication with the public that players would be free to not participate in the SJSU match, without consequence.
The game was ultimately moved from Nevada to San Jose just days before the Oct. 26, 2024 date. Then, just a day before the game, UNR announced they would forfeit due to not having enough players willing to compete.
The team then went 1-7 to finish the season after that, finishing 12-17 and well out of the postseason picture.
"This situation hit our team morale pretty hard. It was a huge distraction and took us away from what we were there to do play volleyball. Being pulled in and out of meetings and being asked about the events from outsiders really got to our heads," Liilii said.
For Liilii, the impact of the situation even bled into her personal life.
"In regard to personal life, I can speak for myself that I have lost friends over being a vocal part of this issue. Which is unfortunate, but I believe strongly that this is just not right and something I couldn’t stay silent about then," she said.
Chainey said the morale of her daughter's team was "horrible," and was "infuriated" that the team had to take a loss from the forfeit.
"For them to get punished like that, it's infuriating, because they shouldn't have had to take a forfeit, they shouldn't have taken a loss, because it reflected in their standings," Chainey said.
"These young female adults, they are being bullied."
Things didn't get better for UNR in 2025, slipping to last place in the Mountain West conference at 8-20, and now faces a federal investigation in 2026.
Meanwhile, Liilii has moved on and is playing pro volleyball outside of the country.
"My pro volleyball career has been fun. I just wrapped up a season in Kosovo and I will be moving to play in Germany for 2026. My involvement hasn’t impeded anything, but I have been asked about the situation and why I feel so strongly about this issue. I have learned this issue has a lot of support from females from other countries," Liilii said.
Now, Liilii, Chainey and Smith await the pending consequences on SJSU and UNR from the federal government.
Meanwhile, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo is doing his part to prevent similar situations in his state.
Lombardo announced in early January that he’s leading a petition to amend the Nevada Constitution to keep transgender athletes out of girls’ and women’s sports.
The proposed ballot initiative would require the state and other entities that receive public funds such as schools, college or local athletic programs, or entities that govern them to categorize each sport or competition as male, female, or coeducational/mixed sex.
UNR has provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing all of the above findings and testimony.
"The University has received correspondence from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and has responded appropriately through the proper legal and administrative channels.
"The University remains committed to fostering an inclusive, supportive, and respectful campus environment for all of our students. We recognize and uphold our responsibilities under state and federal law, including the U.S. and Nevada Constitutions. The University also remains in compliance with the rules and regulations of the Mountain West Conference and NCAA.
"As stated in the University’s statement from Oct. 17, 2024, the administration communicated that the University supported the players’ rights to choose not to participate and that any member of the women’s Wolf Pack volleyball team that opted out of participating in the match could do so without consequence and would not be subjected to any team disciplinary action.
"Our focus remains on ensuring that every student has the opportunity to pursue their educational and professional goals in a safe and welcoming environment."
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