Michigan HS Girls' Volleyball Team With Trans Player Advances In State Tournament

Although the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) continues to dodge OutKick's questions about whether Ann Arbor Skyline is in compliance with the association's rules regarding transgender players, the team is moving into the next round of the state tournament. 

As OutKick previously reported exclusively, the Skyline girls volleyball team has a trans-identifying biological male (who OutKick is not naming because the person is believed to be a minor) in its starting lineup.

The MHSAA requires transgender athletes to have an approved waiver to compete in any organization-sponsored events, which include the district and regional tournaments. The organization said in September that it had not granted any waivers since last fall (waivers have to be approved every year), but has ignored multiple follow-up requests asking if one has since been granted. 

As OutKick has reported throughout the fall season, Skyline appears to have attempted to hide its biological male player's identity, with many parents of opposing teams expressing outrage when they discovered their teenage girls were competing against a male. 

On Tuesday night, Skyline handily defeated DeWitt 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-18) in the MHSAA girls volleyball regional semifinal, and they'll face Saline (which defeated Mason in the second semifinal) on Thursday at Mason High School in Mason, Mich. There are 16 teams remaining in the Michigan state girls volleyball tournament, which now moves to the regional final stage. 

The Eagles advanced without much help from their transgender player, who spent a large portion of the match on the bench and was seemingly used mostly as a decoy when on the court. Despite possessing the ability to jump higher than any of the females on the court, Skyline seemed to shy away from using its trans-identifying player too much. Perhaps some of that had to do with the change of venue. 

New Venue, New Vibes

As OutKick previously reported, we attended last week's District 15 tournament, which Skyline won. Due to Skyline finishing first in its district during the regular season, the school hosted the tournament. Skyline's principal, Casey Elmore, along with several of the team's supporters and/or radical transgender activists followed me all over the gym and harassed me to the point I had to call the police. 

But things were very different inside the Mason High School gym on Tuesday night. Skyline had a very small fan section that seemed to mostly be comprised of parents and family members of the players. Nearly everyone else in the gym, even those not affiliated with DeWitt, cheered loudly for the Panthers. Some people even wore pro-woman attire to show their support for the female athletes. 

The girl on the left, Sydney Roche, graduated from Mason High School last year and said she came to support her friends (who faced Saline in the second semifinal), but also wore the shirt to make a statement about the unfairness of having a male athlete on the Skyline team. 

I tried to speak with several parents on the DeWitt side, but nearly all of them declined. One parent told me that they were happy I was there to cover the event and Skyline's trans-identifying player, but didn't want to go any further. Another came up after the match, shook my hand, and simply said, "Keep doing what you're doing." 

After what I went through last week in Ann Arbor, it's clear why some people are afraid to speak out. They don't want to face the harassment from the radical leftists who continue to support sacrificing fairness and privacy for female athletes in the name of their radical "inclusivity" agenda. 

Skyline High School has a mural inside the school that says "Safe Space" and is adorned with the rainbow "pride" flag, the "transgender pride" flag, and the school's logo. 

(OutKick)

Thankfully, there were no incidents on Tuesday like last Thursday in Ann Arbor. Several Skyline parents gave me dirty looks and stared at me as I passed them, but that was the extent of it. 

Following the issues in Ann Arbor, the MHSAA told OutKick, "Security is among top priorities at our tournament events – and we are confident our hosts will provide safe environments at all of our regional venues."

There was an elevated presence of law enforcement at Mason High School; I saw at least three police officers stationed throughout the gym and surrounding area. There were no security guards or police officers at Skyline last Thursday. 

Parents from Saline spoke to OutKick earlier this season about their daughters facing a trans-identifying male player. That sets up a very interesting match on Thursday between Saline and Skyline with a trip to the state quarterfinals on the line. 

It's safe to say that if Saline parents were angry that their daughters were forced to compete against a male during the regular season, they're going to be furious if their daughters miss an opportunity to go to the state quarterfinals because of that male.