Former University of Wyoming volleyball player Macey Boggs said her team experienced significant internal conflict over the decision to forfeit matches against San Jose State University during the 2024 season, amid a controversy involving transgender athlete Blaire Fleming on the Spartans' roster.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Boggs, a senior outside hitter for the Cowgirls, recounted how players learned of Fleming's biological male status in spring 2024 ahead of two scheduled Mountain West Conference matches against SJSU on October 5 and later in the season.[1][2]

The team held an anonymous player vote, with the majority favoring playing the matches, but Boggs and others refused to participate. Tensions escalated, with Boggs describing the locker room as divided into "two separate islands" and some friendships permanently damaged.[1]

Prior to the October 5 match at Laramie, Wyoming Athletic Director Tom Burman informed the team that he and university president Philip DiBona had decided to forfeit, removing the choice from the players. Wyoming Athletics confirmed the decision was not influenced by state government but followed divisive discussions amid pressure from both sides to play or forfeit.[1][3]

Utah State was the first Mountain West team to forfeit against SJSU on September 26, 2024, followed by four others including Wyoming.[2][4] Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon supported the forfeits, stating they upheld "integrity and fairness in female athletics."[1]

The forfeits contributed to two losses on Wyoming's record. The Cowgirls finished the season 17-13 overall and 8-8 in conference play, missing the Mountain West tournament by two wins.[3][5]

In November 2024, Boggs and teammates Sierra Grizzle and Jordan Sandy joined a lawsuit filed by former SJSU player Brooke Slusser against the Mountain West Conference, SJSU and the California State University system, alleging Title IX violations. U.S. District Judge Kathryn M. Werdegar partially dismissed claims against the conference in March 2025 but allowed Title IX claims against SJSU and CSU to proceed pending related rulings.[6]

Separately, SJSU and CSU are challenging a U.S. Department of Education finding of Title IX violations related to Fleming. Education Secretary Linda McMahon set a March 11, 2025, deadline for resolution or face potential funding cuts and Justice Department referral.[1][7]

Sources

1. Fox News Digital, "Former Wyoming volleyball star Macey Boggs opens up about how SJSU scandal 'tore apart' her team", March 18, 2025, https://www.foxnews.com/sports/former-wyoming-volleyball-star-macey-boggs-opens-up-team-torn-apart-sjsu-forfeit-transgender-athlete
2. Mountain West Conference, "2024 Women's Volleyball Schedule", accessed April 2025, https://mountainwest.sportswr.com/sports/wvball/schedule
3. Wyoming Athletics, "Wyoming Athletics Statement on Volleyball Forfeits", October 2024, https://gowyo.com/news/2024/10/4/volleyball-statement-on-sjsu-matches
4. Associated Press, "More teams forfeit volleyball matches against San Jose State over transgender athlete", October 5, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/san-jose-state-volleyball-transgender-forfeit
5. Wyoming Athletics, "2024 Women's Volleyball Final Statistics", December 2024, https://gowyo.com/sports/womens-volleyball/stats/2024
6. U.S. District Court Northern District of California, "Slusser et al v. Mountain West Conference et al, Case No. 3:24-cv-05888", March 14, 2025, https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/
7. U.S. Department of Education, "Secretary McMahon Issues Deadline to San Jose State University on Title IX Compliance", March 11, 2025, https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/secretary-mcmahon-issues-deadline-san-jose-state-university-title-ix-compliance