The “BOYcott” will not be televised. Not on ESPN anyway.
As it relates to a growing list of women’s volleyball teams refusing to compete against a team led by a man, the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” is channeling its inner Gil Scott-Heron.
Scott-Heron, a 1970s jazz poet, famously stated over conga drums that “the revolution will not be televised.” Scott-Heron’s song referred to an overthrow of the government and the so-called liberation of black Americans.
You will not be able to stay home, brother
You will not be able to plug in, turn on, and cop out
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and
Skip out for beer during commercials
Because the revolution will not be televised …
On Monday, a fifth collegiate volleyball team — the University of Nevada, Reno — announced its intention to forfeit a match against San Jose State University, a Division I member of the Mountain West Conference. The Spartans’ best player is a young man, Brayden Fleming, who changed his name to Blaire. He played the previous two years on the San Jose State team while the university concealed his biological sex.
In March, one of his teammates, Brooke Slusser, joined a lawsuit suing the NCAA for violating Title IX by allowing biological men to compete against women. Slusser, at one point, was one of Fleming’s roommates.
“It was a really hard pill to swallow, because I couldn’t comprehend the fact that there was a man on the team, and it was almost as if I was in denial for a really long time that this was happening,” Slusser told OutKick.com in an exclusive interview. “So it was just really hard for me to wrap my head around. And then, it still being a topic we weren’t really allowed to talk about. It was just kind of whispers behind closed doors that this is what’s happening, but no one’s really talked about it or addressed it.”
This is an amazing moment. Teammates are pitted against each other. Universities are pitted against their athletes.
Slusser’s experience sounds exactly like what’s going on at ESPN, a mature media institution born in 1979. Slusser is a child. She’s supposed to be confused and wishy-washy. A genuine worldwide leader would be exploring this controversial topic and providing Slusser and others the information and insight to make an informed decision on gender identity.
Forty-five-year-old ESPN is a scared child. Disney won’t allow its broadcasters to address the most important issue in all of sports. I’m sure they whisper about it behind closed doors.
But in front of cameras, Stephen A. Smith, Pat McAfee, Ryan Clark, Shannon Sharpe, and all the other talking heads are silent. It’s quite the contrast, the difference between how ESPN handles racial conflict and gender conflict.
Two years ago, a black Duke volleyball player claimed a BYU fan called her a racial slur during a match. Smith and Sharpe launched loud, on-camera defenses of Rachel Richardson. Dawn Staley, the head basketball coach at South Carolina, canceled a basketball game at BYU, claiming her players wouldn’t feel safe. ESPN.com ran several front-page stories about the incident and Staley’s reaction.
BYU conducted an extensive investigation, trying to identify the alleged perpetrator. The investigation concluded the alleged verbal attack did not happen. The allegation never made sense. A group of college kids in a closed environment shouting the “N-word” with smartphones everywhere? Come on.
But here is something real, important, and traumatic happening in the world of volleyball and sports. ESPN has nothing to say.
Nevada, Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming, and Utah State have all announced they won’t play against “Blaire” Fleming and San Jose State. Hours after the Nevada team made its announcement, the administration at the school contradicted the young women on its team.
“The players’ decision and statement were made independently, and without consultation with the University or athletic department. The players’ decision also does not represent the position of the University,” the administration said in a statement.
The statement concluded: “The University intends to move forward with the match as scheduled, and the players may choose not to participate in the match on the day of the contest. No players will be subject to any disciplinary action for their decision not to participate in the match.”
This is an amazing moment, an incredible story highlighting a consequential inflection point in this nation’s history and culture. Teammates are pitted against each other. Universities are pitted against their athletes.
Is gender a state of mind or a state of body?
The answer is obvious. The confusion is a byproduct of a lack of public debate. It’s not debated because the people who prefer “state of mind” realize they would be slaughtered in public debate. Their public silence and not-so-private bullying have sparked an un-televised revolution.
I call it the “cis rights movement.” It’s led by former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines. She publicly complained three years ago when William “Lia” Thomas invaded women’s swimming and stole an NCAA medal from a woman. Gaines is the Rosa Parks for female athletes. Her courage has spawned the courage we’re seeing from volleyball players at Nevada, Wyoming, Boise State, Southern Utah, and Utah State.
This week, the women at Utah State started wearing “BOYcott” T-shirts. They want boys out of their locker rooms and out of their sports. They understand that women excel in athletic competition when they’re left to compete among themselves.
That’s a message progressives don’t want to spread. Leftists believe in androgyny. They believe men and women are the same. They reject the word of God written in the book of Genesis. They reject common sense.
Defending their positions publicly would expose their hostility to God and common sense.
Disney and ESPN will not televise this revolution — especially not in an election year when the Democratic nominee hails from San Francisco, parties with drag queens, and believes children should be surgically castrated on demand.
Transgender athletes, Volleyball, Espn, Unlv, Fearless, Opinion & analysis
