Ex-SJSU volleyball coach defends female player from trans athlete's disputed claims
EXCLUSIVE: Former San Jose State assistant volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose has stepped into the recent war of words between former players Brooke Slusser and Blaire Fleming.
Fleming, who is transgender, made disputed claims that Slusser has been anorexic since they first met in 2023 and failed out of her classes at SJSU. Slusser denied Fleming's statements, previously saying that she developed an eating disorder from the stress and anxiety of playing and rooming with Fleming after discovering Fleming was a biological male, and the highly publicized scandal that ensued.
The conflict between the two players and subsequent lawsuits by Slusser against the NCAA and Mountain West conference over the situation put the players and entire program under immense national scrutiny in their final season together in 2024.
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Now, Batie-Smoose has provided her perspective on the disputed claims between the two athletes.
"To my knowledge, Brooke’s mental health and academic performance were excellent during her first year and a half as a student athlete in the program. She was engaged, consistent and doing well both personally and academically. But after sharing her experience, the surrounding pressures intensified," Batie-Smoose told Fox News Digital.
"She was chastised on campus and on social media, which seemed to cause her well-being and academic performance to decline. From my perspective, that context matters and underscores how much she has been carrying in a short amount of time."
Batie-Smoose also expressed "disappointment" about Fleming's disputed comments about Slusser.
"I’m a little surprised and disappointed by Blaire Fleming's comments. Even if you’re frustrated or hurt by Brooke’s actions, I hoped there might be a little more empathy—especially from someone who has been the subject of personal attacks and understands how tough these things can get. Personal hardship should give us a deeper understanding of and more empathy for what others may be experiencing, not less," Batie-Smoose added.
"Struggles with food, mental health or academic pressure are serious matters that deserve compassion, not dismissal. Regardless of personal dynamics, speaking harshly about someone who is clearly going through a difficult period is not something we want to encourage or normalize. Brooke’s issues with food and her grades aren’t excuses, but rather signs of someone who’s been going through a lot."
Fox News Digital was unable to reach Fleming for comment, as Fleming's Instagram account has been deactivated in recent days.
Slusser originally told Fox News Digital on Nov. 30 – the one-year anniversary of her final game with Fleming – about the impact the situation had on her body and academics.
"From the stress and how anxious I was every single day, I just wasn't eating really at all," Slusser said. "I went from around 160 to 128 [pounds] in that one semester. It definitely isn't healthy for someone of my size to be that weight, and I ended up losing my menstrual cycle for nine months. So it was definitely severe."
The 5-foot-11 Slusser added that people at home started to take notice.
"When I came home, some of my friends and family were very worried about me," she added. "Some of my friends were just like, ‘You always looked tired all the time. You always look dead…’ I was able to come home three days that fall semester my senior year, and I had a friend later on tell me that when I saw her, she went home and cried to her mom, because she was so worried about me, just because she could tell I looked so unhealthily skinny."
Her father, Paul Slusser, then insisted that she move back home to Texas from San Jose after the 2024 season and fall semester ended. The family said she then attempted to finish her final semester and degree online, but later dropped the classes to focus on physical and mental rehabilitation. Slusser and her family say she has recovered from her anorexia, and is working on finishing her degree. She aspires to start her own business in dietetics.
The family is still navigating the completion of her degree.
Fleming responded to Slusser's situation, making the disputed claims to Fox News Digital on Dec. 7.
"She’s been anorexic and struggled with food since I’ve known her[,] aka since 2023. She literally would weigh herself 2-3x a day and keep track of it on her whiteboard in her room…. So I really don’t care or feel bad for her. And she didn’t drop her classes[,] she failed out[,] hope that helps!" Fleming said.
Slusser promptly responded, calling Fleming's statement "just not true."
"These statements are just not true. I have always lived a very healthy lifestyle. Before these events took place[,] I was very disciplined in fueling myself for athletics and [kept] track to make sure I was where I need to be[,] to be the best athlete. It wasn’t until all the craziness started that my healthy lifestyle turned very unhealthy into not eating the amount I should," Slusser said.
"As for school[,] I decided to stay home after fall 2024 to better myself and heal. So no[,] I did not return to San Jose and enroll myself in more courses at an institution that didn’t have my best interest."
Slusser has alleged in her lawsuits against the NCAA and Mountain West Conference that she was never told Fleming's birth sex, and that the two regularly shared hotel rooms on away trips. Slusser has also said in the lawsuits that Fleming confessed to being transgender during a conversation over ice cream in April 2024.
Slusser then joined Riley Gaines' lawsuit against the NCAA in September 2024. What followed was a series of forfeits by opposing teams. Each forfeit compounded growing attention in an election-season media cycle, putting SJSU's volleyball players and their opponents under a massive political spotlight.
President Donald Trump even mentioned the scandal on his campaign trail in October of that year, during a Fox News Channel all-woman town hall event.
Police protection was assigned to the team on a regular basis.
Slusser has alleged in her lawsuit against the Mountain West, which was filed in November, that she was allegedly informed by teammates of an alleged conversation Fleming had with an opposing player, discussing a plan to have Slusser spiked in the face during a match.
Batie-Smoose reported those same allegations in a Title IX complaint against the school, and was later suspended and did not have her contract renewed in January. Batie-Smoose has since filed her own lawsuit against SJSU over her termination.
The Mountain West commissioned a third-party investigation into the allegations against Fleming, and determined that sufficient evidence could not be found to assign discipline.
Fox News Digital has reported extensively on the conditions of that investigation and its handling, prompting critical responses by the White House, U.S. Department of Justice and members of Congress.
In the waning weeks of the 2024 regular season, Slusser and 10 other plaintiffs in her lawsuit against the Mountain West filed a request for preliminary injunction to have Fleming be ruled ineligible to continue playing, and to have the forfeits to SJSU reversed. Federal Judge Kato Crews, appointed by former President Joe Biden, denied the request, keeping Slusser and Fleming on the court together for practice and games.
Slusser and Fleming were ultimately named to the Mountain West all-conference team, as SJSU's only honorees.
They finished the season with a 14-7 record, aided by six conference forfeits, then advanced to the Mountain West championship game after Boise State forfeited in the divisional round.
But they lost in the title game to Colorado State, three sets to one. The loss ensured that the Spartans wouldn't take their scandal into the NCAA tournament.
Slusser left campus shortly after that at the insistence of her parents. According to The New York Times, Fleming also resumed classes remotely the following semester from Virginia.
Slusser said she came close to returning to play NCAA beach volleyball this past spring, and even had discussions with coaches at other schools about recruitment. But she ultimately decided not to, and moved to North Carolina, where she has served as a youth volleyball coach.
The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating the university for potential Title IX violations related to its handling of Fleming.
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