No Evidence SJSU Investigating Claim Trans Player Blaire Fleming Conspired To Throw Match, Injure Teammate

The most serious allegation in the Title IX complaint filed by San Jose State associate head volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose is that transgender player Blaire Fleming conspired with a Colorado State player to fix the match between the two teams on Oct. 3. 

Part of the reason for that, according to the complaint, is that Fleming wanted CSU hitter Malaya Jones to target SJSU setter Brooke Slusser with spikes, subjecting her to physical harm. 

It's important to note that this was the first match played by San Jose State after Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA and spoke out against transgender athletes competing in women's sports. 

An allegation that one player conspired with an opponent to target a teammate is incredibly damning. 

So far, it seems the only punishment that has been handed down in any matter relating to Blaire Fleming was given to Batie-Smoose, who the team suspended indefinitely on Saturday. 

San Jose State associate head volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose (right) alleges that transgender player Blaire Fleming colluded with a Colorado State player to put teammate Brooke Slusser (left) in harm's way during an October 3 match.

(SJSU Athletics)

Brooke Slusser, the alleged target of the collusion, was initially told that the situation was being "handled." 

"I found out about it the day after the match at Colorado State," she told OutKick. 

"And I was obviously, as you can imagine, I was livid. But I was also happy because I was told that [San Jose State’s Compliance Department] was handling it, and it was being coordinated with the Colorado State coaches and their compliance department. They told me the situation was being handled the way it needed to be handled." 

Did San Jose State thoroughly vet the allegation that transgender volleyball player Blaire Fleming conspired to put teammate Brooke Slusser in harm's way? 

The short answer is that we don't know. 

OutKick reached back out to the NCAA to ask about this specific allegation and they did not respond.

OutKick reached out to San Jose State and asked if the school had done an investigation. 

"We take all complaints and reports seriously and are unable to provide any information regarding confidential complaints or reports made to the university’s Title IX office. Our first priority is the well-being and privacy of our students and employees," SJSU spokesperson Michelle Smith McDonald said in a statement. 

There is no clear evidence there that the school, which constantly hides behind privacy laws to avoid commenting on anything surrounding Blaire Fleming, did anything about this allegation. 

Well, it must have spoken to the team's head coach, Todd Kress, right? 

Not according to the interview he conducted with ESPN. 

"Kress said both players met with their head coaches and that he referred the matter to SJSU's Title IX officer to review. He does not know if an investigation was opened or the status of the report," the ESPN article reads. 

San Jose State head volleyball coach Todd Kress (pictured) says he doesn't know if the school investigated a claim that transgender player Blaire Fleming colluded with an opponent to fix a match.

(Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

The head coach "does not know" if an investigation was opened? How is that possible? Based on that comment, it seems the school did not interview Kress as part of an investigation.

How would the school possibly conduct any credible investigation without speaking to the head coach? 

Well, what about Brooke Slusser, the alleged target of the allegation? No, the school didn't speak to her, either. 

"I have heard nothing from anyone. All I keep being told is ‘it’s being handled by the higher-ups. It's out of my hands. I can't talk to you about this, or I don't know what's happening with it yet,’" Slusser told OutKick. 

"You would think after a month, there would be some sort of information about how this has been handled, because in my opinion, giving another team your scouting report and having a teammate and an opposing player threatening your safety and trying to injure you, you would think that both universities would want to have it handled." 

For his part, Kress denied that collusion occurred, and that Fleming couldn't have given Colorado State a scouting report. 

"We didn't do our scouting report, and no one had their hands on our scouting report until the day of the match," Kress said, according to ESPN. 

San Jose State doesn't appear to have investigated claims that transgender volleyball player Blaire Fleming conspired to injure teammate Brooke Slusser.

(Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

And while Kress said Fleming didn't collude, he acknowledged that the meeting between Fleming and the Colorado State player took place. 

But, according to him, it was all just a "joke." 

"Both [student-athletes] said that they were shocked that anybody thought anything of it, because it was totally a joke," Kress said. "They were just talking and venting because, you know, they were frustrated with the situation."

Sure, you know the age-old joke about going to an opponent and joking about a plan to hurt your teammate. Who hasn't done that a million times?? 

Slusser also told OutKick that she had not observed any punishment given to Fleming over the alleged incident. 

"No actions have really been taken to do anything or have any repercussions to those people that were involved. And that's just where I kind of had my breaking point and realized I can't really trust anyone at this university anymore because they obviously don't have my back," she said. 

OutKick couldn't find any evidence that San Jose State investigated the allegation, but what about other institutions? 

Surely Colorado State investigated the role that their player played in the incident, right? 

"I spoke with [Colorado State head coach Emily Kohan]," Kress said. "We both watched the game film. Neither one of us saw anything that brought to our attention that there was any foul play at hand."

OutKick reached out to Colorado State multiple times to ask if they had investigated the incident. 

They have not responded to any of our repeated messages. They also did not respond to an ESPN request for comment. 

Well, what about the conference? 

The Mountain West told OutKick on Nov. 1 that it "became aware of this complaint when it was filed... We are reviewing the document and have initiated an investigation to gather all the facts." 

OutKick reached back out to the Mountain West on Wednesday to ask if there were any updates on the investigation. They told us that "the investigation is ongoing." 

While they don't have any concrete information, the Mountain West is the only institution to publicly state that they are investigating the claim. 

The idea that the school might have tried to sweep a serious allegation against transgender volleyball player Blaire Fleming under the rug tracks with how the school has handled the entire situation. 

As Brooke Slusser told us, part of the reason that she believed Batie-Smoose was suspended was due to the coach's support of the women on the team and speaking out against having a biological male on the roster. 

"I know that [SJSU administrators] weren't happy that she was supporting me," Slusser said of Batie-Smoose.

"She showed from the beginning that she agreed with my opinions that I've voiced and the actions that I've taken. And they weren't happy about it because, obviously, they decided to fully support having a man on the team and not… support anyone but that one person." 

San Jose State volleyball player Brooke Slusser (pictured) says the school never spoke to her about an allegation that transgender teammate Blaire Fleming conspired with an opponent to put Slusser in harm's way.

(Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

OK, but the NCAA must have gotten involved, right? 

OutKick reached out to the NCAA and a spokesperson told us that "the NCAA national office has no comment." They then referred us to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. 

We asked the Office of Civil Rights if it could confirm that a Title IX complaint was filed against San Jose State. 

"The Office for Civil Rights does not confirm complaints. Our list of open investigations, updated every Tuesday, is available [online]," a spokesperson said in an email. 

OutKick checked the website provided to see if there was an open Title IX complaint against San Jose State. According to the site, there is not (as of Thursday, November 7). 

To recap: an assistant volleyball coach alleges that one of her players, a transgender named Blaire Fleming, conspired with an opponent to leave a female teammate, Brooke Slusser, open to receiving unblocked spikes. 

The school did not speak to the head coach or the targeted player about it. Instead, the school suspended the assistant coach who filed the complaint. 

The Mountain West is investigating the incident, but has no updates or information to provide. 

The NCAA referred OutKick to the Department of Education, which referred OutKick to a website to search for open investigations. No such investigation exists. 

In short, a very serious accusation against a trans volleyball player appears to have been largely ignored by the university at the center of the allegation.

The conference acknowledges it is doing an investigation but won't say anything more. And none of the principals we've reached out to say they've been contacted about said investigation. 

And the NCAA simply will not comment. 

That seems awfully strange, doesn't it?