Fall 2024, University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) The women’s volleyball team is under national scrutiny for its involvement in the San Jose State (SJSU) transgender athlete scandal.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced, SJSU violation found UNR is under investigation for possible Title IX violations related to its handling of a scheduled game against SJSU in 2024, the school announced Wednesday, weeks after it was announced.

Fox News Digital obtained exclusive details about UNR’s handling of the situation through testimony from those involved and public records provided by April Chainey, the mother of a UNR player at the time.

UNR has no Title IX official present at key meeting

UNR administrators scheduled women’s volleyball players at a meeting on Oct. 7, 2024. The purpose is to inform players that the team will not forfeit its upcoming home game against SJSU. At the time, four other schools had already been waived by the Spartans amid the national controversy involving transgender player Blair Fleming.

UNR players also privately expressed a desire to waive, but were told that was not the school’s position in the conference.

UNR did not have a Title IX official present at the meeting, according to an Oct. 12, 2024 email from the school’s athletic director Stephanie Rempe.

“Our Title IX officer was not present,” Lemper wrote in an email responding to inquiries from University of Nebraska President Charlton.

Former UNR women’s volleyball captain Sia Liilii called the meeting a “terrible” experience.

Education Department launches 18 Title IX investigations after Scotus hears arguments on protecting women’s sports

“The meeting was horrific,” Lily told Fox Digital News.

“This happened after the school decided to make the choice for us, which made us uncomfortable. They told us that Blair had no advantage because she was taking estrogen and testosterone blockers in order to level the playing field. I was among a group of girls who expressed not wanting to compete for reasons of safety, fairness, and the idea that female athletes would have their opportunities taken away from male athletes. Instead of supporting the decision, we were told that maybe we should consider all the ‘facts’ first, just in case we wanted to reconsider.

“It is very concerning that there was no Title IX official at this meeting and we were given a bunch of ‘facts’ that had no basis in fact.”

Charney said she was “traumatized” as a mother. As a result, she filed a Title IX complaint with the ED’s Office for Civil Rights.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Charney told Fox News Digital.

“The UNR Athletic Department did not advise or provide Title IX officials to be present, which is discriminatory…I’m angry, really angry. I feel like there’s no one to protect the team and the players…They’re really dismissing (players’ voices) because their voices don’t align with the NCAA’s gender ideological agenda…

“It makes me sick when I see this happening.”

UNR warns players they could face ‘legal problems’ if they don’t attend SJSU, which one witness calls ’emotional blackmail’

After UNR announced it would play SJSU in October, wolfpack players There was no holding back.

They openly stated that they did not want to play the game.

The school sparked national controversy while volleyball season was still underway.

Marshi Smith is a former NCAA swimmer, co-founder of the Independent Commission on Women in Sports (ICONS), a Nevada resident and director of the Nevada Lieutenant Governor’s Task Force on Protecting Women in Sports. That season, UNR players contacted her to share the treatment they received from the university while trying to escape a game against SJSU.

“The girls on the UNR volleyball team were subjected to blanket intimidation into renouncing their decision not to play at San Jose State. There were a number of different tactics, ranging from emotional blackmail to even hints of potential legal trouble,” Smith claimed.

“They don’t know exactly what that means. But when someone in a position of authority threatens you to stand up for your rights and you have to face consequences, that’s a very serious thing.”

UNR previously confirmed to Fox News Digital that they had raised concerns with players about “legal issues” if they did not play.

SJSU volleyball team fails to compete in first season conference tournament after transgender athlete scandal

“University administrators met with the Nevada volleyball team to discuss what might happen if they chose not to compete. One of the situations discussed was the legal issues that could arise surrounding a violation of the Nevada Constitution,” UNR said last January.

The state constitution was revised in 2022, when Democratic lawmakers voted to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which added gender identity to the list of diversity classifications protected by state law.

UNR athletic staff ‘concerned’ about players’ interactions with Riley Gaines and conservative lawmakers

UNR faced a national media landmine to address after players publicly stated in October that they would no longer play at SJSU.

In letters regarding media requests and interviews, UNR assistant AD Aaron Juarez, assistant for strategic communications, told Rempe he was “concerned” about players meeting with conservative influencer Riley Gaines, idaho legislators Used for taking photos.

“My main concern is not with the media talking to Shannon, but with Idaho legislators and other types of people (i.e. the Idaho Freedom Foundation) contacting (redacted) and any of our players or our team wearing these shirts from Riley Gaines,” the email reads.

The players did end up meeting and taking photos with Gaines and Republican politicians, including Tulsi Gabbard, former U.S. Senate candidate and Army veteran Sam Brown and Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin.

UNR Athletics puts ‘Next steps for transgender education’ on agenda

An Oct. 24 email from Rempe to senior associate athletic director for administration Casey Stangel appeared to outline the UNR athletic department’s upcoming priorities, listing “next steps for transgender education” as the last point.

Fox News Digital has reached out to UNR for clarification as to why this is on the agenda and what the next steps are.

The game was never played and the entire season fell apart

In communicating with the public, the university said players can choose not to play at SJSU without any consequences.

The game was finally moved from Nevada to San Jose just days before October 26, 2024. Then, just the day before the game, UNR announced it was forfeiting the game because it didn’t have enough players willing to play.

After that, the team ended the season with a record of 1 win and 7 losses, and the final record was 12 wins and 17 losses, far out of the playoffs.

“This situation has severely damaged the morale of our team. It has greatly distracted us from being able to focus on playing volleyball. Being pulled in and out of meetings and being questioned about the incident by outsiders is really giving us a headache,” Lilly said.

For Lily, the impact of the situation even seeped into her personal life.

“In terms of my personal life, I can speak for myself because I lost friends because of speaking out on this issue. It was unfortunate, but I firmly believed it wasn’t right and I couldn’t stay silent about it at the time,” she said.

Charney said the morale on her daughter’s team was “terrible” and was “angry” that the team had to suffer the loss.

“It’s infuriating that they were punished like this because they shouldn’t have been forced to give up and they shouldn’t have suffered the loss because it reflected on their ranking,” Charney said.

“These young female adults, they’re being bullied.”

Things didn’t get much better for UNR in 2025, slipping to last place in the Mountain West Conference with an 8-20 record and now facing a federal investigation in 2026.

Meanwhile, Lily has moved on, playing professional volleyball abroad.

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“My professional volleyball career has been interesting. I just finished a season in Kosovo and in 2026 I will be playing in Germany. My participation didn’t hinder anything, but I was asked about the situation and why I felt so strongly about the issue. I learned that there was a lot of support for the issue from women in other countries,” Lily said.

Now, Liilii, Chainey and Smith await pending federal consequences for SJSU and UNR.

Meanwhile, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo is doing his part to prevent a similar situation in his state.

Lombardo announced in early January that he was leading a petition to amend the Nevada constitution to prevent transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.

The proposed ballot initiative would require states and other entities that receive public funds, such as schools, colleges or local athletic programs, or the entities that govern them, to classify each sport or competition as male, female or coed/mixed gender.

UNR’s response

UNR has provided Fox News Digital with a statement addressing all of the above findings and testimony.

“The university has received the letter from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and responded appropriately through appropriate legal and administrative channels.

“The University remains committed to fostering an inclusive, supportive and respectful campus environment for all students. We recognize and uphold our responsibilities under state and federal law, including the United States and Nevada Constitutions. The University also remains compliant with the rules and regulations of the Mountain West Conference and the NCAA.

“As in University Statement October 17, 2024The school said it supports the right of players to choose not to compete and that any member of the Wolfpack women’s volleyball team who chooses not to compete can do so without consequences or any team disciplinary action.

“Our focus remains on ensuring every student has the opportunity to pursue their educational and career goals in a safe and welcoming environment.”

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