Mountain West closes investigation into allegations against San Jose State trans player without discipline
The Mountain West Conference says it conducted an investigation into conspiracy allegations by players on San Jose State and Colorado State's volleyball teams and closed it without taking disciplinary action.
In a letter addressed to San Jose State athletic director Jeff Konya and Colorado State athletic director John Weber, obtained by Fox News Digital, Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez says the conference did not find sufficient evidence of claims in a recent Title IX complaint.
The complaint alleged San Jose State transgender player Blaire Fleming conspired with a Colorado State player to influence the outcome of a match and to hit Fleming's teammate, Brooke Slusser, in the face with a ball during that match.
The letter did not address allegations in a recent lawsuit, nor did it address the notion there was a conspiracy to have Slusser hit in the face. The letter refers to all the allegations listed in the complaint as "manipulation of the competition."
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"The complaint included allegations volleyball players from Colorado State University (CSU) and San José State University (SJSU) conspired to engage in manipulation of the competition during a SJSU vs. CSU volleyball match played October 2, 2024, in Fort Collins, Colorado. Upon receipt of this information, the Mountain West Conference office, in coordination with both member institutions, immediately initiated a thorough investigation into these serious assertions," the letter said.
Nevarez says the conference's investigation included interviews with head coaches and student-athletes initiated by both institutions. However, the letter does not specifically state which individuals had been interviewed. Fox News Digital has reached out to the conference for clarity on that list of individuals but has not received a response.
The conference also claims its investigation included a review of the match video by both head coaches, review of the match video and statistical analysis by multiple third-party volleyball experts engaged by the conference and multiple interviews conducted by a third-party investigator engaged by the conference in consultation with the Mountain West’s legal counsel.
The conference claims any evidence to back the claims was insufficient. However, the letter does not explicitly state that the allegations are false.
"Upon review and evaluation of the extensive information gathered during the investigation, there is insufficient evidence to corroborate the allegations of misconduct related to the SJSU vs. CSU volleyball competition played October 2, 2024. As a result, the Conference office has determined no disciplinary action is warranted and considers this matter closed," it said.
The initial Tile IX complaint was filed by suspended San Jose State assistant head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose Oct. 29. Batie-Smoose was suspended shortly after the complaint was filed, to the dismay of Slusser and other players on the team.
Batie-Smoose, Slusser and other current and former players on the team and across the Mountain West filed a lawsuit against the conference and San Jose State that provided further context on the allegations.
San Jose State volleyball player Chandler Manusky is cited in the lawsuit recounting an incident in early October, when she and other teammates, including the trans athlete, violated team rules by sneaking out of a team hotel the night before a match against Colorado State. Manusky claimed to have then learned about an alleged plan by player Blaire Fleming to ensure San Jose State would lose the match and set up Colorado State player Malaya Jones to spike Slusser in the face during a match Oct. 3.
"Manusky said that at Jones’ residence Fleming had shared with Jones the scouting for the CSU-FC game and 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," court documents said.
"Manusky also said that Fleming stated, ‘I’m going to leave center court open,’ which would allow Malaya Jones to have a wide-open shot to try to ‘blow up Slusser,’ i.e., to try to hit Brooke Slusser in the face with the ball."
The documents allege Manusky confronted head coach Todd Kress and Batie-Smoose about the incident. Manusky claims she was crying as she begged them not to tell Fleming she had come forward with the story.
"Kress told Batie-Smoose he did not believe Manusky and thought she had made up the entire story so she would not get in trouble for leaving the team hotel," the documents said.
Slusser previously told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview she was made aware of Fleming's alleged plan and believes she has been treated unfairly by the university, arguing the university has not done enough to investigate the matter.
"If this was me, and I was the one threatening to do this to my teammate who's caused so much commotion, there would have been action taken immediately," Slusser said. "I was definitely very angry, and I was glad at first to know that it was already made aware to the coaching staff and compliance and everyone, but I don't know if that made me feel any differently. I was just angry because I didn't think someone would go to these lengths.
"Threatening to want to hurt one of your own teammates, I just feel like there's so many things in that whole conversation that would make a school want to get it dealt with."
San Jose State beat Colorado State Saturday In the first match since the lawsuit was filed. Fleming had the game-winning serve and was swarmed by the other Spartan players in celebration, including Slusser and Manusky.
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