Former San Jose State University volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser has come forward with allegations that her transgender teammate conspired with an opposing player to intentionally injure her during a match last fall.
Slusser claims that Blaire Fleming, a biologically male transgender athlete, colluded with a Colorado State University player to have her “spiked in the face” during their October 3, 2024 game. The allegations center on an incident the night before the match, when Fleming and other teammates allegedly snuck out of their team hotel to meet with Colorado State’s Malaya Jones.
According to Slusser’s lawsuit, filed alongside 10 other current or former women’s college volleyball players, teammates who witnessed the hotel meeting later reported that Fleming handed over an SJSU scouting report and agreed to help Colorado State win the match. More disturbing still, they claim to have overheard Fleming and Jones discussing a plan to target Slusser with a spike to the head.
“Based on what I was told, exactly what one of my teammates had seen go on that night — about talking about the scouting report and leaving the net open — was told to those lawyers. So, that should have been sufficient evidence [of the alleged plan by Fleming],” Slusser told Fox News Digital.
The allegations take on added gravity considering Slusser’s medical history. She sustained a concussion during her junior year in 2023 and actively sought to avoid hits to the head due to fears of permanent brain damage. “It could take one more slam to my head, and I could be done with volleyball forever,” she explained.
During the October 3 game against Colorado State, Slusser noticed unusual gaps in defensive coverage that left her exposed. “There was a lot of court open, more than usual, when it came to where I was supposed to be playing defense,” she recalled. “After finding out that it was [allegedly] purposeful, that the block wasn’t there, I was enraged.”
Former SJSU assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose provided additional testimony, claiming she witnessed Fleming refusing to follow orders during the game. She described a particularly suspicious moment at the end of the first set: “Close to the end of that set was when [Fleming] overpassed a serve right on top of the net for Malayla to hit toward Brooke Slusser, and then those two were kind of always doing eye contact and making smirks up to that point. But then, when that happened, they both laughed, and [Fleming] said, ‘Thank you,’ and that’s when Blaire blew her a kiss.”
The night before the game, Slusser received an ominous warning from a teammate who had received a message advising the team to “keep [their] distance from me on game day against Colorado State, because it wasn’t going to be a good situation for me to be in.”
Despite the alleged conspiracy, Slusser was never actually struck in the head during the match. Fleming recorded 10 errors as SJSU lost in straight sets to Colorado State.
The Mountain West Conference launched an investigation into the allegations in November 2024 but concluded that “sufficient evidence” could not be found. However, the investigation has drawn criticism for its brevity and potential conflicts of interest. The conference hired the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher to conduct the investigation — the same firm that was simultaneously defending the conference against Slusser’s lawsuit challenging Fleming’s eligibility.
The investigation’s timeline raises additional questions. The Mountain West announced the investigation had closed without finding sufficient evidence just three days after the first emails to set up witness interviews were sent. When questioned about whether this provided adequate time for a thorough investigation, SJSU Athletic Director Jeff Konya refused to answer and abruptly ended his interview with Fox News Digital, saying “I’m done.”
Slusser claims that a teammate who was interviewed during the investigation corroborated the allegations against Fleming, providing what she believes should have been “sufficient evidence.” However, conference officials have declined to disclose any details from witness interviews, citing ongoing litigation.
The controversy has taken a severe toll on Slusser and her family. She abandoned the SJSU campus after facing constant harassment and threats from students who disagreed with her stance. “I really wasn’t safe with anyone at the school or even the people that they would hire to come in and help,” she said.
Slusser’s mother Kim described the devastating impact on her daughter: “I didn’t realize how much it had affected her. It really was surprising to me when she came home. She was not herself at all. She was a shell of herself. It was very traumatizing to her.”
The former volleyball star had originally planned to use her remaining eligibility to play beach volleyball at another university but ultimately decided against it due to fears of retaliation. “I could have gotten there and could have had a lot of retaliation from just students or staff or the athletes even, and I didn’t know if that was something I could handle going through again,” she explained.
Slusser’s attorney William Bock has criticized the Mountain West’s handling of the investigation, calling it “outrageous, improper and deceptive.” He said that the conference hired the same law firm to both investigate the allegations and defend against the related lawsuit.
San Jose State is currently under federal Title IX investigation by the U.S. Department of Education over Fleming’s participation on the women’s volleyball team from 2022 to 2024.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon confirmed that the federal investigation will continue, telling Fox News Digital: “Our investigation will continue.”
Meanwhile, Slusser has relocated to North Carolina to begin her post-college life but remains involved in ongoing legal battles against the NCAA, Mountain West Conference, and representatives of San Jose State University.
