USA Volleyball suggests changes coming to sex testing, while junior families raise male athlete concerns

USA Volleyball suggested it may change its policy on genetic sex tests to protect the women's category. Meanwhile, multiple female players of USA Volleyball-sanctioned leagues and their families have spoken out about playing against an allegedly transgender opponent.

USA Volleyball, the International Volleyball Federation and members of the U.S. Womens National Team said they have reached a "constructive path forward" after players raised concerns about the rollout of genetic screening used to determine eligibility for the female category in international competition.

The organizations said in a July 28 joint statement that they had reached a "shared understanding" over concerns surrounding the sex-determining region Y, or SRY, screening process.

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"Following a series of productive discussions, the FIVB, USA Volleyball, and members of the USA Womens National Team (WNT) are pleased to confirm a shared understanding and a constructive path forward regarding the concerns raised in relation to the SRY screening process," the statement read.

"When the WNT first raised concerns through USA Volleyball related to communication, athlete privacy and procedural safeguards, the FIVB responded immediately by meeting with USA Volleyball and adapting its procedures to address these concerns."

The statement did not announce an end to SRY screening or a change to the eligibility standard itself. Instead, it focused on how the testing is communicated and administered and said the parties would continue working together to improve the process.

The dispute followed the International Olympic Committees March 2026 policy, which limits eligibility for the female category at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and other IOC events to biological females, as determined through a one-time SRY gene screening. The IOC says the policy is not retroactive and does not apply to grassroots or recreational sports.

FIVB incorporated SRY screening into its 2026 Sports Regulations. Under those rules, the presence of a Y chromosome initially places a player in the male category, while its absence makes a player eligible for the female category. The regulations also establish a process through which a player may seek a change in categorization by demonstrating that no competitive advantage would result.

The FIVB rule is limited to FIVB, world and other official competitions organized by the international federation, its confederations and zonal associations. FIVBs regulations expressly leave eligibility rules for domestic club competition to each national federation.

That distinction has become a flashpoint for three families who told Fox News Digital that their daughters competed on teams with an alleged biological male athlete in a USA Volleyball-sanctioned league. The families allege that an amended birth certificate was accepted as the controlling eligibility document even though, they say, the alleged biological male athletes sex at birth was mal