Seemingly, everybody is talking about Boise State University volleyball.
Everybody, that is, except Boise State University leaders.
Here, in its entirety, is everything Idaho’s largest public university has bothered to say publicly since Friday afternoon. “Boise State volleyball will not play its scheduled match at San José State on Saturday, Sept. 28. Per Mountain West Conference policy, the conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Boise State. The Broncos will next compete on Oct. 3 against Air Force.”
That’s it. Forty-eight words.
There is much more to the story — not that you’ll get any of that from a sanitized statement scrubbed of content and context. According to a lawsuit filed in federal court last week, a transgender athlete, Blaire Fleming, plays volleyball for San José State.
Boise State has entered — and simultaneously sought to avoid — one of the most polarizing debates in education and athletics. Boise State, which declined an interview request this week, has refused to answer even the most basic questions about this forfeiture.
Four forfeits, at a glance
Four universities have forfeited volleyball matches with San José State University this season. Southern Utah University forfeited a match in September. Last week, Boise State University forfeited its match in San José, scheduled for Saturday.
On Tuesday, the University of Wyoming forfeited a home match with San José State, scheduled for Saturday. Like Boise State, Wyoming has said little about its decision, saying only that it came after “a lengthy discussion.” The decision came amidst political pressure; state legislators publicly circulated a letter urging the university to cancel the match, Madelyn Beck of WyoFile reported Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Utah State University said it was canceling its Oct. 23 match with San José State.
Did players make this call, or did it come down from coaches or university administrators?
What was the driving consideration? Concerns about competitive fairness? A broader concern about access to college scholarships set aside for female athletes? More fundamental concerns about player safety, amid reports that Fleming is more powerful than other players on the court, and capable of spiking a volleyball at 80 mph?
As Boise State faces some of the most intense public scrutiny in its 92-year history, did politics play a factor? Was damage control a piece of the equation?
And did an Aug. 28 executive order from Gov. Brad Little force Boise State’s decision?
Basic questions. Fair ones, too.
Regardless of where we stand on transgender athletes, we should be able to agree on the basic importance of transparency. This is a university that will receive $289.8 million from the state this year, including $128.9 million of general fund tax dollars. Taxpayers got a lot of squishiness for their money last week.
And this is also a university with a president, Marlene Tromp, who talks often about the need to foster important conversations about the issues of the day. Right now, Boise State looks like it supports uncomfortable discussion — but only when it’s comfortable to do so.
Nonetheless, the debate is on, with or without Boise State’s involvement.
Some of Boise State’s most fierce Statehouse adversaries are cheerleading for the university, this time around.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation — a libertarian-leaning lobbying group that has made criticism of Boise State’s social justice programs into a recurring rallying cry — is now encouraging its members to attend the Broncos’ next home volleyball match. (This would be the aforementioned Oct. 3 match that Boise State did manage to work into its statement.)
Rep. Barbara Ehardt praised Boise State for acting on principle and courage. “If we want this to stop, then we need to stop it,” the Idaho Falls Republican wrote on Facebook. “Please let BSU know they did the right thing! Courage is contagious.” A former women’s college basketball coach, Ehardt co-sponsored a 2020 state law banning transgender women and girls from playing in women’s and girls’ sports; challenged in court by Lindsay Hecox, a transgender woman attending Boise State, the law remains mired in court.
Actually managing to address the issue at hand, San José State entered the fray, defending itself and Fleming. “All (of our) student athletes are in full compliance with NCAA rules and regulations.”
Cole LeFavour, the first openly LGBTQ lawmaker in state history, took to Facebook to lay the blame at the steps of the Statehouse. “A state government is targeting and harassing people for their identities. Let that sink in. History will not be kind.”
Enter state leadership, starting with Little.
Minutes after Boise State announced its forfeiture Friday, Little took to X to say the quiet part out loud. “We need to ensure player safety for all of our female athletes and continue the fight for fairness in women’s sports.”
Little and State Board of Education executive director Josh Whitworth both said the Boise State decision aligned with a gubernatorial executive order, dubbed the “Defending Women’s Sports Act.” Signed in August, the order addresses Idaho’s public schools. But San José State, it should go without saying, is a public institution in another state, its roster decisions unaffected by an executive order in Idaho.
It isn’t saying much, but Little’s office has said more about Boise State’s decision than the university has. On Monday, spokeswoman Joan Varsek said player safety was the primary concern, emphasizing that “Boise State made the decision (to forfeit) on its own.”
But there are a lot of different potential flavors of a “Boise State decision.”
If the players made the decision on their own, that’s one matter. But if university officials made the decision — or overtly or subtly nudged the athletes in that direction — that’s another matter.
And if this indeed was a top-down decision, or one influenced by the administration, it’s only fair to consider the political backdrop. Barely two weeks ago, Boise State took a public relations humbling in an Ada County courtroom, when jurors awarded former Big City Coffee owner Sarah Fendley $4 million in damages in a lawsuit against a current university administrator, Alicia Estey, and a former administrator, Leslie Webb. Fendley claimed she was pushed off campus due to her public support of law enforcement, a First Amendment case embraced by the Freedom Foundation and other Boise State critics.
This is the problem, one of Boise State’s making. By saying nothing — and abdicating the debate about policy decisions to everyone who isn’t involved in the process — Boise State deserves all the speculation and skepticism that comes its way.
San José State is scheduled to play at Boise State on Nov. 21. So this debate isn’t over.
Regardless of what Boise State says or doesn’t say.
Kevin Richert writes a weekly analysis on education policy and education politics. Look for his stories each Thursday. Due to the timeliness of the topic, this week’s analysis published on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
