This is the moment a graduate was told he couldn’t wear a ‘Keep Women’s Sports Female’ shirt while watching his school’s volleyball match against transgender athlete Blaire Fleming.
In exclusive footage obtained by SurpassAir Force Academy officials can be heard telling John Kopecky to cover up his controversial jersey during their game against San Jose State and Fleming, who is a biological male.
Kopecky first had to unzip his hoody and show what he was wearing underneath, but was told not to show the shirt because the message was “political” and not allowed.
While he was allowed in, Air Force officials told him he would be ordered to leave if the hoody was unzipped, while several eyes would be on him during the game.
‘I saw security pointing me to the chief inspector [and] the commander,” Kopecky said. “I could kind of see out of the corner of my eye, they were pointing to where I was sitting.”
Transgender volleyball player Blaire Fleming has been at the center of intense controversy
Fleming, who is in their third season on San Jose State’s women’s volleyball roster, is at the center of a class-action lawsuit filed against the NCAA, which is accused by more than a dozen female athletes of knowingly violating a law which forbids sex. -based discrimination by allowing a transgender athlete to participate in women’s sports.
Several opponents have also declined to play San Jose State in recent months due to safety concerns with their trans player.
Kopecky also talked about other changes to the usual process at Air Force volleyball games, with security also not allowing fans to bring signs into the facility.
A large sign with a fan code of conduct was also more visible than ever before.
“They put out a big sign with all these rules about fan behavior, which may have been there in the past, but I’ve never seen it [displayed] right by the door,” Kopecky said.
A fan captured the moment he was told he couldn’t wear a ‘Keep Women’s Sports Female’ jersey during the Air Force Academy’s game against San Jose State and Fleming
Fleming, a biological male, was involved in San Jose State’s victory over Air Force
The redshirt senior is currently at the center of a class action lawsuit filed against the NCAA
Air Force Academy said in a statement: “Air Force Athletics is taking the necessary steps to provide a safe environment for players, coaches, staff and fans at all home sporting events.”
San Jose State then defeated Air Force on the day, finishing 11-3 for the season.
As the dispute over trans athletes in women’s sports continues, Fleming – who has yet to publicly come out as trans – sparked further debate earlier this month by sending a ferocious spike out of an opponent’s face.
The peak occurred on the SJSU campus, with the San Diego State Aztecs leading the San Jose State Spartans 22-12 in the second set.
It was then that Fleming was set up by teammate Brooke Slusser before firing a spike off the face of San Diego State’s Keira Herron.
“Keira Herron has some pink in her hair and her face is starting to look like she’s going to match it as she’s clearly accepted the contact,” an announcer said in the video, which quickly went viral.
Remarkably, Herron kept the game alive, albeit only temporarily before the point finally went to the Spartans. And what’s more, she even laughed afterwards as she appeared to tell a teammate that she was “doing fine.”
Fleming has been cleared by San Jose State to play three seasons for the SJSU women’s volleyball team, which he will join in 2022.
The Mountain West Conference has been notified by ICONS of athlete safety concerns regarding Fleming, who was named in a federal lawsuit filed by the organization. Slusser, the SJSU player who sparked Fleming’s aforementioned spike, has since joined that lawsuit.