Trans Volleyball Player Blaire Fleming Receives Honorable Mention Honors From Mountain West
LAS VEGAS, NV – The Mountain West announced its awards for the volleyball regular season on Tuesday and transgender San Jose State player Blaire Fleming was among the honorees.
Blaire Fleming.
The conference named Fleming as an All-Mountain West Team Honorable Mention, along with co-captain Brooke Slusser who is currently a named plaintiff in two lawsuits involving the inclusion of Fleming on the Spartans’ roster.
READ: Trans SJSU Volleyball Player Eligible For Mountain West Tournament As Judge Denies Motions
Among other honorees was Colorado State’s Malaya Jones, who was named the Mountain West Player of the Year.
In a Title IX complaint filed against San Jose State by former associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose, who is currently suspended by the school, Jones is accused of conspiring with Fleming prior to a match between CSU and SJSU on Oct. 3.
That allegation is also contained in the lawsuit against the Mountain West conference, in which both Slusser and Batie-Smoose are among the 12 plaintiffs.
According to the lawsuit, three San Jose State players violated team rules by leaving the team's hotel the night before the match to meet at Jones' residence.
"After the SJSU Team got back to campus, student-athlete Chandler Manusky told teammates, including co-captains Alyssa Bjork and Brooke Bryant, that Manusky, Fleming, and [Randilyn] Reeves, had snuck out of the team hotel after hours the night before the [match]," the suit reads.
According to Manusky's recounting, "They had discussed Fleming ‘throw[ing] the game’ and how they would set up Jones to ‘blow up’ Slusser and ‘blast’ her in the face during the game."
Brooke Slusser.
The Mountain West says that it investigated the claim but could not find enough evidence to corroborate the claim.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs called the conference’s investigation "rushed, sloppy, incomplete, and infected with bias."
Regardless, the allegations clearly didn’t affect either Jones or Fleming in the eyes of the conference, which bestowed honors upon both players.
READ: SJSU, Trans Volleyball Player Blaire Fleming Denying Media Requests At Mountain West Tournament
Jones leads the top-seeded Rams into the Mountain West tournament, which begins on Wednesday. Colorado State has a bye into the semifinals on Friday and will play the winner of the match between Fresno State and San Diego State.
L-R: Blaire Fleming and Brooke Slusser. (Photo: SJSU Athletics)
((CREDIT: SJSU Athletics))
Fleming and Slusser were the only two SJSU players given honors by the conference, which was likely affected by SJSU playing only 12 conference games (they had six forfeit victories).
San Jose State, like Colorado State, also has a bye to the semifinals and will play the winner of the Boise State-Utah State match on Wednesday.
Both teams forfeited against SJSU during the regular season. It's unclear if they would forfeit in the Mountain West tournament, as well.