MWC's Nevarez -- Heartbroken by San Jose St. volleyball situation - ESPN

LAS VEGAS — Mountain West Conference commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Thursday the forfeitures that women's volleyball teams are willing to take to avoid playing San Jose State is «not what we celebrate in college athletics» and that she is heartbroken over what has transpired this season surrounding the Spartans and their opponents.

Four teams have canceled games against San Jose State: Boise State, Southern Utah, Utah State and Wyoming, with none of the schools explicitly saying why they were forfeiting.

A group of Nevada players issued a statement saying they would not take the court when the Wolf Pack were scheduled to host the Spartans on Oct. 26. The players cited their «right to safety and fair competition,» though their school reaffirmed Thursday the match was still planned and that state law bars forfeiture «for reasons related to gender identity or expression.»

All of those schools, except Southern Utah, are in the Mountain West. New Mexico, also in the MWC, was going ahead with a home match Thursday night against the Spartans.

«It breaks my heart because they're human beings, young people, student-athletes on both sides of this issue that are getting a lot of national negative attention,» Nevarez said in an interview with The Associated Press at Mountain West basketball media days. «It just doesn't feel right to me.»

Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the cancellations, citing a need for fairness in women's sports. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee in this year's presidential race, this week referenced an unidentified volleyball match when he was asked during a Fox News town hall about transgender athletes in women's sports.

«I saw the