Lawyers fighting SJSU over volleyball scandal respond to federal Title IX probe findings
EXCLUSIVE: Multiple lawyers representing women affected by the San José State University (SJSU) volleyball scandal have responded to findings of a federal investigation into the incident.
Part of the findings from the investigation, published by Fox News Digital on Wednesday, reveal new details of how the school handled allegations against a trans athlete of plotting to have a teammate harmed during a match, the initial recruitment of the trans athlete without allegedly disclosing the player's birth sex to other players and "silencing dissent" after the scandal went public.
SJSU and the California State University system (CSU) are also currently suing the U.S. Department of Education over the investigation into the school's handling of a transgender volleyball player and female teammates from 2022-24.
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Attorney Bill Bock is representing former SJSU player Brooke Slusser and 10 other players from the Mountain West Conference in a Title IX lawsuit against SJSU and the CSU over the scandal.
"The findings made by the U.S. Department of Education are consistent with the facts courageously brought forward two years ago in a federal court complaint by Brooke Slusser and other women volleyball players against the California State University Board of Trustees and the Mountain West Conference, including that San Jose State University violated Title IX and discriminated against women by allowing a man to participate on the SJSU women’s volleyball team, San Jose State University joined in silencing dissent about the man participating on its women’s volleyball team, and San Jose State University condoned retaliation against Brooke Slusser," Bock told Fox News Digital.
"Brooke and her fellow women volleyball players continue to fight for justice in federal court and are very encouraged that SJSU’s discrimination against them has been substantiated by the U.S. Department of Education’s investigation."
Attorney Vernadette Broyles is representing former SJSU assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose in a wrongful termination lawsuit, after Batie-Smoose spoke out against the school for its handling of the situation, and later did not have her contract renewed.
"The U.S. Department of Education’s findings confirm what Coach Batie-Smoose witnessed firsthand: female athletes were kept in the dark, their legitimate concerns about safety and fairness were ignored, and those who spoke up were threatened and silenced," Broyles told Fox News Digital.
"Melissa was punished for doing what Title IX requires: standing up for the female athletes she coached. SJSU’s decision to sue the Trump administration rather than fix the problem and come into compliance with Title IX shows they still refuse to accept that biological males do not belong in women’s sports. We are proud to represent Melissa in holding CSU accountable."
Fox News Digital has reached out to SJSU, the CSU and the Mountain West Conference for a response.
California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton responded to a question about SJSU and the CSU's lawsuit against the Education Department in an interview with Fox News Digital on Friday, prior to publication of the recent findings.
"This is what's going right across the board in California. You've got common sense positions being moved forward by the Trump administration, whether that's on this issue, whether it's on antisemitism, and all these things and you've got the far-left ideologues in California wasting public money, fighting against common sense. It’s completely ridiculous, we’re done with this," Hilton said when asked about SJSU suing to block the Trump administration's Title IX investigation findings.
"That's why we're going to kick these Democrats out this year. We just gotta have common sense that aligns with the majority of people in California."
Fox News Digital obtained the Education Department's written findings of its Title IX investigation into SJSU in 2025 and 2026. The findings were provided by SJSU in response to a public records request.
Most individuals referenced in the findings are identified only by anonymous titles. However, the findings refer to these individuals in circumstances that Fox News Digital has reported on in the past, and based on previous reporting, Fox News Digital reasonably believes those individuals to be SJSU volleyball head coach Todd Kress (Coach 2), Batie-Smoose (Coach 3), transgender former player Blaire Fleming (Student 1), and Slusser (Student 3).
Other SJSU players and staff are also identified by anonymous titles, but Fox News Digital is not identifying them by name, currently.
The findings went on to allege that it was "undisputed" that "there was a plan discussed to injure" Slusser, led by Fleming.
"It is disputed whether Students 1 and 9 actually followed through with the plan to injure Student 3, or whether the discussion was meant as a joke. What is undisputed, however, is that there was a plan discussed to injure Student 3, and that plan to injure Student 3 was discussed by Student 1 and Student 9 in the presence of two other San José State University teammates," the findings state.
The findings later stated, "To silence dissent, ‘scare tactics’ were used. The women on the team were told they needed to be careful of what they said because they all signed a contract and could lose their scholarships. That threat made several members of the team afraid to speak out. Student 10 said that at one point, Coach 2 told the team to be careful regarding how they act with regard to Student 1."
The findings also outlined alleged interactions between Kress and Batie-Smoose regarding the handling of Fleming.
"Coach 3 states she was specifically instructed by Coach 2 and the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student Wellness and Leadership Development to not tell anyone either on the team or off the team that Student 1 is male. Coach 3 states she was also told ‘anyone who disagrees with [Student 1] being on the women’s volleyball team needs to get therapy and needs to leave SJSU,’" the findings state.
Bock and Slusser's lawsuit against SJSU and CSU initially survived motions to dismiss back in early March, as federal judge Kato Crews deferred ruling on Title IX claims against the defendants until after a U.S. Supreme Court decision on a trans athlete in West Virginia.
The ruling is expected this month, and may set a new precedent on how Title IX is interpreted nationally.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which is representing the "Save Women's Sports" defendants in the Title IX SCOTUS cases expected to be determined this month, previously addressed the potential ripple effect the ruling could have.
"We hope the ruling from the Supreme Court will affirm that Title IX was designed to guarantee equal opportunity for women, not to let male athletes displace women and girl in competition. It is crucial that sports be separated by sex for not only the equal opportunity of women but for safety and privacy. Title IX should protect women’s right to compete in their own sports. Allowing men to compete in the female category reverses 50 years of advancement for women," ADF Vice President of Litigation Strategies Jonathan Scruggs told Fox News Digital.