San Jose State suspends women’s volleyball coach after she files Title IX complaint about 6-ft-tall male player on team
A women’s volleyball coach was recently suspended after criticizing her university’s allegedly preferential treatment of a male player who allegedly threw a match and conspired to have one of his female teammates injured.
On Saturday, San Jose State University (SJSU) in California suspended Melissa Batie-Smoose, the associate head volleyball coach of its female volleyball team, the Spartans, as reported by OutKick.
The suspension came shortly after Batie-Smoose issued a Title IX complaint against SJSU regarding the presence of Blaire Fleming, a six foot tall man, on the team.
The Title IX complaint alleges that several new players who joined the Spartans were not informed that Fleming is actually a man, according to Quillette.
Batie-Smoose also claimed that SJSU showed preferential treatment to Fleming and suppressed complaints from female players who felt uncomfortable regarding the presence of a man on the team. More seriously, Batie-Smoose also claimed that not only did Fleming intentionally throw a match against the Colorado State University Rams, he also colluded with a Rams player to have his own Spartans teammate, Brooke Slusser, injured during the match.
Slusser has been vocal about her opposition to Fleming’s presence on the Spartans team, and previously said that Fleming’s identity as a man was “a topic we weren’t really allowed to talk about. It was just kind of whispers behind closed doors that this is what’s happening, but no one’s really talked about it or addressed it.”
Slusser expressed her support and admiration for Batie-Smoose.
“I am so proud of her for speaking the truth. Everyone on the team appreciated it, and a lot of the girls in the locker room said how happy they were that she finally was able to speak out [on a situation] that we all knew needed to be talked about,” Slusser said, according to OutKick.
“She’s literally the mother of the team, that person that anyone could go and talk to about anything and feel heard,” she said. “The fact that they took that away, now there’s no safe space anymore to go and speak freely among anyone in our coaching staff. And I think that’s the hardest part about this whole thing.”
Batie-Smoose criticized also SJSU’s decision, telling OutKick: “This is just another form of what San Jose State has been trying to do – silence people that are speaking up for their First Amendment rights and for what’s right. . . . I just want to protect women’s sports and protect the members of our team… I’m concerned about Brooke Slusser and the majority of the team because they’re being silenced and their thoughts and feelings don’t matter [to San Jose State University.]”
The female volleyball teams of the Universities of Nevada-Reno, Utah State, Boise State, Wyoming, and Southern Utah all forfeited matches against SJSU, refusing to play against a team with a man.
An SJSU spokesperson told Campus Reform: “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.”
”We are aware of certain claims//statements made by an employee, regarding her absence from the women’s volleyball game on Nov. 2. While we strongly disagree with those statements, we will continue to honor the privacy of our employees and students. We require and expect that all of our employees abide by our standards, policies, and applicable laws regarding student and employee privacy,” the statement continued.
Campus Reform has reached out to San Jose State and Melissa Batie-Smoose for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
