San Jose State’s women’s volleyball coach admits it has been “very difficult” to lead the team lately amid the controversy surrounding transgender player Blaire Fleming.
Several opponents have refused to play against San Jose State in recent months after it emerged that Fleming, who is in his third season on the team’s roster, was a biological male.
The redshirt senior is at the center of a class-action lawsuit filed against the NCAA, which is accused by more than a dozen female athletes of knowingly violating a law banning sex discrimination by allowing a transgender player participate in women’s sports. .
And as the dispute raged on, Fleming – who has yet to publicly come out as transgender – sparked further debate on Thursday by sending a ferocious spike out of an opponent’s face.
After that match against San Diego State, San Jose State coach Todd Kress expressed frustration with the “outside noise” about Fleming, which has made it difficult to focus on volleyball lately.
The coach of controversial women’s volleyball player Blaire Fleming (photo) has spoken out
Fleming, who plays for San Jose State, was revealed to be transgender earlier this year
“Honestly, it’s been really hard lately to focus on what we can do on the field,” Kress said. “There have been outside forces that have tried to divide our team, our university, our conference and our sport.
“I know it weighs heavily on the players in our dressing room who have worked hard for years.”
Kress also opened up about the hate mail he and his team have received amid the outrage over Fleming’s gender.
“Some of it is, quite frankly, disgusting,” he fumed. “I’m more concerned about our student-athletes and what they’re getting and how that’s impacting their mental health.”
“We have an incredible group of young women who are trying to put controversy aside,” Kress added. “I just have faith that in the end we can put aside the outside noise and play for each other and find love for each other again.”
Fleming’s peak win over an opponent occurred on the SJSU campus, with the San Diego State Aztecs leading the San Jose State Spartans 22-12 in the second set.
At that point, the player was trapped by teammate Brooke Slusser before firing a spike out of the face of San Diego State’s Keira Herron.
The redshirt senior is currently at the center of a class action lawsuit filed against the NCAA
Fleming sparked further controversy this week by sending a spike off an opponent’s face
San Jose State coach Todd Kress admits it’s been ‘very difficult’ managing the team lately
“Keira Herron has some pink in her hair and her face is starting to look like she’s going to match it as she’s clearly accepted the contact,” an announcer said in the video, which has since gone viral.
Remarkably, Herron kept the game alive, albeit only temporarily before the point finally went to the Spartans. And what’s more, she even laughed afterwards as she appeared to tell a teammate that she was “doing fine.”
“I feel a little ashamed when she tries to laugh off that last ball,” the announcer added.
The Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) has played a central role in the controversy surrounding Blaire, who was outed as transgender in an OutKick.com article in September.
Fleming has been cleared by San Jose State to play three seasons for the SJSU women’s volleyball team, which he will join in 2022.
The Mountain West Conference has been notified by ICONS of athlete safety concerns regarding Fleming, who was named in a federal lawsuit filed by the organization. Slusser, the SJSU player who sparked Fleming’s aforementioned spike, has since joined that lawsuit.
Fleming has been cleared by San Jose State to play women’s volleyball for three seasons
One motion obtained by DailyMail.com claims Slusser expressed safety concerns to school officials. Additionally, Slusser says she was told by the school not to talk about teammates’ gender identities.
San Jose State has so far refused to address the gender identity of its players.
“We operate our program under the regulations of both the NCAA and the Mountain West Conference,” it said in a statement to DailyMail.com last month. “Our student-athletes are in full compliance with NCAA rules and regulations.