Fire Island’s LezVolley volleyball tournament canceled over trans player controversy

Fire Island’s beloved LezVolley tournament, a volleyball tournament for queer woman and nonbinary people, was abruptly canceled on Saturday when a transgender player wanted to participate.

The event, which says it is for “LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary individuals,” has taken place in Cherry Grove on Fire Island — a popular queer beach town two hours drive from New York City — since 2011. A piece from Self covering the 2023 LezVolley tournament called it “a special day for both players and spectators—it offers community, queer joy, heart-pumping competition, and exuberant recreation.”

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Fire Island and Great South Bay News said, “The circumstances surrounding this incident were initially unclear.”

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The publication’s one correspondent present at the event reported that “one team refused to play with another during one of the tournament games. Referees ultimately decided in the opposing team’s favor, and organizers canceled the remainder of the tournament shortly after.”

LezVolley organizers said in a statement that “LezVolley is, and has always been for the past 14 years, a sporting event for women, and more specifically women within the queer community. This means the volleyball tournament is open to all women, female presenting and female identifying individuals, including trans women.”

Organizers said that the event was interrupted on Saturday when one team refused to play against another, because a male identifying individual would be playing against them. The LezVolley team said that they asked “the person to leave the court, in order to be respectful to the other teams. This decision was in no way, shape or form the result of a transphobic behavior and was misinterpreted as such.”

As a result, their statement reads, “A part of the crowd became passionate, then angry, then aggressive—even violent toward us organizers. They occupied the courts, preventing the rest of the teams from playing, and refused to leave until we agreed to let their male player play.” The organizers said that they decided to “stay true to what we built: a sporting event for the women community.”

Organizers said that they faced opposition from the crowd over the decision, and felt unsafe, ultimately deciding to cancel the event in the midst of the other scheduled matches. The LezVolley Instagram posted a statement saying that they “We accept full responsibility for canceling the event and more importantly, the emotional harm that may have been caused to any member of our community.”

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A post shared by LezVolley (@lezvolley)

A Change.org petition was started on Sunday, a day after the canceled tournament, addressed to LezVolley organizers and asking for an “important change in your league’s participation policies to ensure that all individuals, regardless of gender identity, are welcome to join and compete.”

The petition, at time of writing, has garnered over 240 signatures. It states, “The tournament held on August 10, 2024, purposely excluded participants who identify as trans men. This action not only marginalized a group of individuals but also undermines the principles of diversity and inclusion that your league stands for.”

On the LezVolley Instagram post, the event’s organizers said they “are devastated by how 2024 LezVolley tournament turned out and apologize to all our players, supporters, visitors and sponsors” and that “We have always tried to provide a safe, inclusive event for all members of our community.”

Organizers also saod that they are planning a town hall to discuss the incident and how the community should proceed. Comments appear to be disabled on the post. “After processing what occurred at yesterday‘s event, it is clear our community needs some healing and conversation,” the post read.

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