A transgender college volleyball player has been accused by her own coach of conspiring with a rival to hurt her teammate and organize a match.
Blaire Fleming, a senior at San Jose State University, planned an attack on her team’s co-captain, Brooke Slusser, because she opposed her inclusion on the women’s team, according to their associate coach Melissa Batie-Smoose.
Batie-Smoose filed a Title IX complaint this week, claiming school officials showed favoritism toward Fleming “at the expense of Fleming’s 18 female teammates,” as reported by Quilette.
The complaint says Fleming met with Malaya Jones, 21, of Colorado State University, before an Oct. 3 game in Fort Collins.
Batie-Smoose claims the pair devised a plan to leave the center of the court open so Jones could attack Slusser with powerful spikes, or “kills.”
She allegedly did this after Slusser said it was unfair and unsafe to have to play alongside a powerfully built transgender teammate.
Batie-Smoose did not learn of the plan until a day later, but explained that she suspected something was wrong during the game as Fleming continued to allow Jones an unobstructed batting lane to target Slusser.
Blaire Fleming, a senior at San Jose State University, allegedly planned an attack against co-captain Brooke Slusser, who has opposed her inclusion on the women’s team
San Jose State University Women’s Volleyball is pictured. Fleming sits at the far left front
“At one point,” Batie-Smoose claims, “Blaire sent an overpass, allowing Malaya to perfectly manage to kill the ball again in the direction of Brooke Slusser, after [which] Jones blew a kiss to Fleming and said, “thank you.”
Coach Melissa Batie-Smoose filed a Title IX complaint this week, claiming school officials showed favoritism toward Fleming
Slusser’s roommate had reportedly received a threat on social media earlier that day that read: “distance yourself from [B]Rooke at the game tomorrow, it won’t be good for her.’
Batie-Smoose claimed that when she later asked head coach Todd Kress if anything would be done about the matter, he said, “It’s out of my control.”
She and Slusser have said publicly that while Fleming’s athleticism has brought the Spartans record victories, her participation and the official response to it have alienated team members who no longer enjoy the sport.
Despite concerns about the fairness of Fleming’s inclusion on the team, head coach Kress is reported to have said that Assistant Director of Student Wellness Laura Alexander told him that anyone opposed to Fleming’s inclusion on the women’s team should leave the school and ” seek therapy’.
Batie-Smoose says Kress allowed Fleming to violate the dress code and scheduling rules that other teammates must follow.
Slusser has spoken publicly about how Fleming’s inclusion has affected the team
The complaint says that before an Oct. 3 game in Fort Collins, Fleming met with Colorado State University’s Malaya Jones to devise a plan to leave the middle of the field open so Jones could hit Slusser with powerful spikes could attack.
Kress also reportedly regularly tells players that “excluding trans-identified players like Fleming should be seen as morally tantamount to homophobia and anti-Black racism.”
In some cases, Kress would suggest that Fleming’s opponents are betraying trans rights and the entire LGBTQ community.
According to the veteran coach, Kress even pushed out a promising student who was vying for Fleming’s position by demanding much stricter standards. That student received a scholarship and had to leave the program and school.
Fleming reportedly only began identifying as transgender with her teammates in April 2024.
However, Batie-Smoose said she suspected Fleming was not biologically female due to her immense physical strength.
Head coach Todd Kress reportedly regularly tells players that “excluding trans-identified players like Fleming should be seen as morally equivalent to homophobia and anti-Black racism”
Assistant Director of Student Wellness Laura Alexander reportedly said that anyone opposed to Fleming’s inclusion on the women’s team should leave the school and “seek therapy.”
Fleming, who stands 6-foot-4, currently ranks third in the Mountain West in kills and second overall in points.
The coach said: what stood out was the spike [ball] and blocking in the front row, thanks to Fleming’s jumping ability and passing power, which far exceeded that of any player. [Mountain West] Conference.’
As the volleyball community started talking about Fleming, Batie-Smoose says her teammates were repeatedly instructed that “this was Blaire’s story to tell” and “only Blaire’s story.” Critics of Fleming say her supporters have tried to stifle concerns and condemnations with accusations of bigotry.
Batie-Smoose argued that SJSU administrators’ “repeated instructions not to speak about Blaire Fleming caused student-athletes on the team to fear that they could lose their scholarships or be removed from the team if they were left out of a team meeting would talk about Fleming’s gender. .’
The coach says her concerns grew when she realized Fleming’s inclusion in the team could be dangerous to other players. She became especially concerned after Fleming fired a murder shot off the head of a University of Delaware opponent.
‘It was clear to me that the [University of Delaware player] was very athletic and skilled, but simply had no chance to protect himself from the spike,” Batie-Smoose said.
Fleming, who stands 6-foot-4, currently ranks third in the Mountain West in kills and second in overall points
Batie-Smoose added that many of Fleming’s own teammates are now turning away during practice games because they fear Fleming’s power. She said this fear response is “virtually unheard of in women’s volleyball.”
SJSU told DailyMail.com on Friday that it “takes all reports and complaints seriously and reviews them.”
“Due to federal and state privacy laws, the university cannot comment on active reports or complaints,” the statement added, claiming that the “university also has concerns about a number of inaccuracies in the [Quillette] article, but cannot comment further on this in light of those privacy laws.
‘In addition, the university is very concerned about apparent breaches of the privacy of students and employees and will address these where necessary.’
Fleming, who is in her third season on the roster, is currently at the center of a class action lawsuit filed against the NCAA.
The sports organization is accused by more than a dozen female athletes, including Slusser, of knowingly violating a law banning sex discrimination by allowing them to compete in women’s sports.
Amid the controversy over their inclusion, Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State and Nevada all opted to forfeit games against San Jose State.
The case went viral after a video last month showed Fleming sending a ferocious spike out of an opponent’s face.