San Jose State women’s volleyball team dispute over transgender athletes reignites ‘fairness’ debate

Fairness came up frequently Saturday at a rally supporting the women’s volleyball team from the University of Nevada, Reno, the latest of five teams to forfeit against SJSU.

They play on the same team, but they couldn’t be further apart.

One member of the women’s volleyball team at San Jose State University has signed on to being part of a federal lawsuit against the NCAA challenging the presence of transgender athletes in women’s college sports. The specific person she cites? One of her own teammates.

The situation swirling around the SJSU team—which has gotten increasingly chaotic in recent weeks, with several teams canceling matches against the school and politicians and advocates weighing in—somehow seems unsurprising in the polarized United States these days as a highly contested election looms.

As with other points of dispute in the struggle over gender identity and transgender rights, one thing opposing sides have in common is framing their stance as a matter of what’s fair and right.

Where they stand a chasm apart is in one fundamental sticking point, a tough question in any arena: What does ‘fairness’ actually mean?