Hate spreads quickly, just like lies and manipulation.

At the center of this chaos is a young woman who, until now, was just an average player on a volleyball team. Now she has been thrust into the spotlight by right-wing agendas turning her into a target in their cultural disputes.

Nevada has now forfeited a volleyball match against San Jose State, joining four other institutions in a misguided panic that lacks any factual support. This is part of a continuing scheme aimed at convincing the public that transgender athletes are overpowering women’s sports, stealing chances for cisgender females to compete, earn scholarships, and win accolades.

All of these assertions are false. Yet, the harm they inflict is very real.

The San Jose State player has not made any statements regarding her situation, her gender identity is not confirmed, and still, her private matters are being scrutinized publicly. She has been let down by the silence from the Mountain West conference and the NCAA, along with the attention-seeking actions of teammate Brooke Slusser and Nevada captain Sia Liilii, who seem more focused on gaining fame in conservative media than on genuine fairness.

This player is experiencing severe online harassment, and now even Donald Trump is mentioning her at his rallies. No one seems to care about how this affects her mental well-being.

This situation is also affecting her team, with the Spartans suffering three consecutive losses following the first forfeit. Players on the teams that are forfeiting and disagree with this situation are now facing jeopardy to their postseason prospects.

The roots of this hostility lie in our fear of the unfamiliar and our dislike for what we do not comprehend.

Only a tiny fraction of the American population identifies as transgender, and even less participate in sports. Data from Athlete Ally, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ athletes, shows there are between 30 to 40 transgender athletes in college sports. This number is from a pool of nearly 539,000 athletes across all NCAA divisions last year.

Thus, it’s incorrect to claim that transgender women are dominating collegiate sports teams. The fears expressed about it “could” happen overlook the fact that it hasn’t occurred yet, even though the NCAA and the International Olympic Committee have had rules enabling transgender athlete participation for over twenty years. It simply isn’t a reality.

Regarding the supposed “advantage” that transgender athletes have, there is no solid scientific evidence supporting this notion. Most of the studies quoted by transphobes compare cisgender men to cisgender women, presuming that transgender women must also have advantages. A recent study commissioned by the IOC indicates the contrary; it suggests that transgender women could actually be at a disadvantage concerning lung capacity and cardiovascular fitness.

This study also warned against hasty conclusions due to a lack of comprehensive research on transgender athletes.

Moreover, if it were true that transgender athletes had an advantage, we would expect to see them winning more competitions. Laurel Hubbard, the first openly transgender woman to participate in the Olympics, didn’t progress beyond the first round in Tokyo. Paralympic runner Valentina Petrillo didn’t advance past the semifinals in Paris. Juniper Eastwood, the first openly transgender woman in Division I cross country, placed eighth in the 2019 Big Sky championships, trailing nearly 45 seconds behind the winner.

What about Lia Thomas? She did win an NCAA title during her senior year, but her time was over nine seconds slower than Katie Ledecky’s collegiate record and placed lower than all but one of the last eight NCAA champions. She finished far behind the winners in her other two finals as well.

However, facts seem irrelevant to the anti-trans agenda, which remains silent on genuine issues that endanger women athletes—such as insufficient funding, lack of support, and predatory coaching practices. Their focus is solely on instilling fear, using age-old tactics of fostering animosity towards the marginalized for personal power and advancement.

What they fail to see is that attacking those who are more vulnerable does not elevate their own status; it merely reveals them as bigots. Their ignorance is evident as they do not grasp that sex and gender are distinct concepts, both existing on a spectrum.

Instead of “safeguarding” women athletes, this panic only puts more female athletes at risk. Any woman who appears masculine, has short hair, or dresses in a traditionally boyish manner, is viewed with suspicion, as highlighted by the unsettling events at this summer’s Paris Olympics. This witch hunt against their teammate has created a chaotic environment for the San Jose State team this season.

Future generations will undoubtedly recognize these disgraceful and ignorant responses for what they truly are. Nonetheless, the damage they inflict now, on this San Jose State player and countless others, is irreparable.