Volleyball team leader ‘sad’ after school appears to ‘prioritize one man’ over team of female athletes
San Jose State University volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser explains why she is seeking legal action amid the school’s transgender athlete controversy as former NCAA star Riley Gaines adds her perspective on ‘America Reports.’
A female athlete on the San Jose State Spartans women's volleyball team said they are "distraught" over the sudden firing of their assistant coach who spoke out against the inclusion of a transgender athlete on the team.
Melissa Batie-Smoose, the San Jose State Spartans women’s volleyball associate head coach, was suspended indefinitely after she filed a Title IX complaint against the school alleging that Blaire Fleming, the team’s transgender player, conspired with an opponent to help the team lose a match and injure teammate Brooke Slusser.
Melissa Batie-Smoose was terminated after she filed a Title IX complaint. (Fox News Channel)
In an appearance on "America Reports" Tuesday, Slusser said Batie-Smoose's firing came as a shock to the female athletes who've relied on her as their only sounding board to air their frustrations about playing with a biological male on their all-female team.
"I think you can imagine, she was that one person that everyone felt like they could voice their opinion [to] and truly speak how they felt with the whole situation and feel comforted," Slusser said. "And them [sic] taking that away from us … everyone felt distraught. And especially finding out minutes before a game, it was just a horrible situation."
Batie-Smoose previously told OutKick that she was told not to speak to the media after she was terminated, accusing the school of trying to "silence people that are speaking up for their First Amendment rights and for what's right."
She added she wanted to "make sure I'm standing strong that only women should be in women's sports."
San Jose State released a statement to OutKick after Batie-Smoose was suspended.
San Jose State Spartans player Brooke Slusser has a lawsuit filed against the team. (Courtesy of San Jose State Athletics)
"The associate head coach of the San Jose State University women’s volleyball team is not with the team at this time, and we will not provide further information on this matter," the team said.
The school was thrust into the spotlight of national partisan debate between gender identity rights and the sanctity of women’s sports over the course of a heated election year. Slusser made headlines after she joined a lawsuit against the NCAA alleging that San Jose State had not warned any of its recruits that it had a transgender athlete on the team. Slusser says she played two full seasons with Fleming, sharing a locker room and rooms on overnight trips without being told that Fleming was a biological male.
From front left to right, San Jose State setter Brooke Slusser celebrates after scoring a point with libero Randilyn Reeves, outside hitter Blaire Fleming and libero Alessia Buffagni during the first set of an NCAA college volleyball match against Colorado State, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Fort Collins, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The national controversy has led to seven canceled matches this season.
"It's sad that the school still chooses to prioritize one man’s needs over an entire team and be willing to get rid of half of our season because of it," Slusser said on "America Reports." "It’s amazing that other teams in the conference can stand up and just say, no, we are not doing this, and yet our school is still okay with having one person on our team that is causing all of these issues and yet will not get rid of them."
The volleyball team leader previously told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that the university's handling of the situation has left her feeling "unsafe" and in an unprotected position after multiple threats against her life.
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"No matter what people’s opinions are, whether they want to support not allowing trans in the NCAA, or if they do support that, whatever they think, there obviously are two sides to having me on the team and having Blaire on the team, so it’s just this fear that you never even know what people are going to do these days," Slusser said.
The team now travels with armed security as it continues to dominate the national conversation surrounding the participation of transgender athletes on female teams.
Fox News' Ryan Gaydos and Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
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