Former San Jose State University (SJSU) volleyball assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose has filed a lawsuit against the California State University (CSU) system, alleging wrongful termination after she raised Title IX concerns regarding the inclusion of a transgender athlete on the team. Her contract was not renewed following her suspension for filing a complaint that challenged the program’s handling of a transgender athlete, Blaire Fleming, and a female player, Brooke Slusser, who objected to Fleming’s participation. Batie-Smoose claims the university’s actions violated her federally protected rights.
The incident has sparked ongoing legal and investigative scrutiny, with SJSU facing a federal investigation into its handling of the situation. The case highlights the ongoing tensions surrounding transgender inclusion in women’s sports and the broader implications for Title IX compliance and athlete rights. The Mountain West Conference is also under review for its handling of the case, which has drawn attention from national media and legal experts. Batie-Smoose’s Title IX complaint against the school, which she filed at the end of last October, first brought to light allegations that the transgender athlete, Blaire Fleming, conspired with an opposing player to have teammate Brooke Slusser spiked in the face during a game.
Slusser previously joined a lawsuit against the NCAA and filed another against the Mountain West Conference, citing her experience of being made to share changing spaces and hotel rooms with Fleming without being told Fleming’s birth sex. Batie-Smoose was then suspended at the start of November while the allegations against Fleming prompted an investigation by the Mountain West into the situation. The Mountain West’s investigation determined that sufficient evidence could not be found, however, Fox News Digital later reported that the law firm hired to conduct the investigation, Willkie Farr & Gallagher (WFG), is the same firm that is representing the Mountain West against Slusser’s lawsuit, which also contains the allegations against Fleming of conspiring to have Slusser harmed, as seen in public records obtained by Fox News Digital.
Slusser also previously told Fox News Digital that she had a conversation with a teammate who was interviewed as part of WFG’s investigation.