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The Ann Arbor Skyline girls volleyball team, which has a trans-identifying male in its starting lineup, advanced to the Michigan State quarterfinals with a decisive sweep (25-15, 25-18, 25-21) over Saline Thursday night at Mason High School. They are now one of just eight teams remaining in the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division I girls tournament, the highest level in the state.
The MHSAA requires transgender athletes to have an approved waiver to compete in all organization-sponsored events, which include district and regional tournaments. The organization said in September that it had not granted any waivers since last fall (waivers must be approved each year), but has ignored several follow-up requests asking if one has since been granted.
As OutKick has reported throughout the fall season, Skyline appears to have tried 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 man.
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Ann Arbor Skyline beat Saline to reach the MHSAA Division I quarterfinals, sparking debate about a trans-identifying player in Michigan girls high school volleyball. (Out Kick)
The trans-identifying player, who OutKick is not naming because the athlete is believed to be a minor, dominated the first set with several massive kills, helping Skyline prevail in the first set, 25-15.
Every time the player spiked the ball, the frustration on the faces of those in the Saline cheering section was evident. One parent kept holding two thumbs down every time the player made a key play.
Another parent saw the player spike a ball and turned to her husband and quietly said, “It’s the boy, isn’t it?”
But after Skyline won the first set, it seemed like the team was less likely to set that player up for spikes. While the trans-identifying player wasn’t the most dominant on the field—perhaps on purpose—the benefits of jumping and hitting from the male player over the female players were clear.
“As you saw, it was actually a pretty even game when he wasn’t on the field,” one Saline parent told me after the game.
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The trans-identifying player, who OutKick is not naming because the athlete is believed to be a minor, dominated the first set with several massive kills, helping Skyline prevail in the first set, 25-15. (Getty Images)
Another attendee remarked, “I’ve never seen a girl jump so high.”
Unfortunately, as much as it seemed clear that several Saline parents wanted to voice their frustrations, most avoided. One told me that as much as they wanted to express their feelings, they feared that their children might face retaliation.
Part of the problem with reporting this story is that all of the schools Skyline has played so far in the MHSAA tournament are in or around Ann Arbor. Several people commented on X, jokingly referring to the city as the “People’s Republic of Ann Arbor” because of its radical left-wing political culture.
Parents are afraid that it will put their children in danger if they speak out against radical left-wing ideology. It’s hard to blame them for feeling that way.
But things are about to change. Skyline will face Byron Center in the state quarterfinals on Nov. 18 at Gull Lake High School in Richland, Mich. While Ann Arbor overwhelmingly voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. presidential election (71 percent in Washtenaw County, which includes Ann Arbor), Byron Center High School is in Kent County. Kent County was much more divided (52 percent to 47 percent in favor of Harris).
The Ann Arbor Skyline girls volleyball team advanced to the Michigan State quarterfinals with a decisive sweep (25-15, 25-18, 25-21) over Saline on Thursday night at Mason High School. (iStock)
But Byron Center is very close to the border of two other counties, Allegan and Barry. Both voted decisively for Donald Trump (64 percent and 66 percent, respectively).
It will be interesting to see what happens when Skyline gets outside of its bubble. Inside its bubble, bystanders harassed me to do my job and, I believe, were practically encouraged by Skyline Principal Casey Elmore. Why wouldn’t they? It is clear that their views on these subjects are rarely, if ever, challenged.
We’ll see what happens on November 18th at Gull Lake High School.
