Following the University of Wyoming’s recent decision to forfeit a women’s volleyball match against San Jose State because of a transgender player’s participation, associate head coach Becky Baker voiced worries regarding the external political influences overshadowing the team’s desire to compete, as revealed in documents from a public records request by YSL News Sports.

In an email sent on October 2 to head coach Kaylee Prigge, who was on maternity leave at the time, Baker included a summary of events from the past week as the situation escalated within the Mountain West Conference.

Four teams from the conference — Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State, and Nevada — have chosen not to face San Jose State, even though the player in question meets NCAA and conference eligibility requirements. She has played for the team for two seasons without issues. YSL News Sports has opted not to disclose the player’s name as neither she nor the university has publicly addressed her gender identity.

As it stands, San Jose State ranks second in the league with an 11-4 record, while Wyoming holds a record of 6-9, and the forfeit could hinder their chances of making the six-team conference tournament later this month. Wyoming currently sits in seventh place, 2.5 games behind the team in sixth.

Although much of the material Baker sent to Prigge is heavily redacted, it mentions a meeting that occurred on September 30 — just five days prior to the scheduled match — involving the team along with athletics director Tom Burman, deputy AD Matt Whisenant, and senior women’s administrator Taylor Stuemky.

According to Baker, Burman shared his personal views and acknowledged the difficult position the players were in before asking them to anonymously express whether they wanted to compete or not by writing “yes” or “no” on paper.

The document notes that Whisenant informed Baker that the vote resulted in a tie of 9-9 with one abstention, and that he subsequently told her the team would forfeit the game.

Baker expressed her concerns about the situation, stating, “I specifically asked him and Taylor to attribute this to the pressures from above that are infringing on our decision-making. He indicated that the numbers swayed the decision more than last week, which could lead our team to believe that’s why we forfeited, and I worry that may create long-term cultural issues.”

The day after the team’s vote, they met again where Whisenant clarified the reasoning behind the forfeit. A player, whose name has been omitted, directly asked him if their vote was a deciding factor, to which he replied that while they valued the input, the final decision was taken out of their hands.

Baker noted that the practice following the decision felt disorganized, and she anticipated that the way things unfolded would lead to conflict within the team. She remarked, “I expect several players may come to me upset.” Additionally, she mentioned that one player shared her feelings on social media, which Baker found disrespectful to her teammates who were unhappy with the situation.

Baker also indicated that Burman was visibly troubled by how the situation would affect the team and confirmed that the choice would have been made elsewhere regardless.

In a September 27 email responding to a query from a name-redacted individual following Boise State’s initial forfeit in the conference, Burman expressed his conflicting feelings on the issue, asserting that while he does not think having a transgender player is right, she qualifies to compete.

Burman stated, “It’s noteworthy that we’ve faced this athlete in the past two seasons, and our players have felt safe in those matches. She’s not the top player on her team, but that doesn’t mean the situation is acceptable. We have conveyed our concerns to the Mountain West Conference and San Jose State, and while she meets NCAA competition standards, we feel it is not appropriate for her to participate. If we opt not to compete, it would result in us forfeiting both games, a decision our athletes oppose. We’ll discuss with our team, and if anyone chooses not to play, we will certainly support that.”

This article has been updated to reflect new information and headlines.