San Jose State women’s volleyball player Brooke Slusser and several of her peers have come forward in a new lawsuit against the university and the Mountain West Conference.
It alleged Slusser’s safety, dignity and rights had been endangered by the presence of a trans athlete, and that athlete was also given a scholarship over biologically female players who were left financially and emotionally impacted.
In court documents obtained by Fox News Digital and OutKick, Slusser and other players shared details about an alleged plan to have Slusser hit in the face by a volleyball during a game.
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 the 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 on 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,” the court documents read.
“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 that Manusky confronted head coach Todd Kress and currently suspended assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose about the incident.
Manusky claims she was crying as she begged them not to tell Fleming that she had come forward with the story. Kress is alleged to have told Batie-Smoose that he believed the story was not true.
“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 read.
Batie-Smoose was suspended by the program after filing a Title IX complaint alleging favoritism by the university toward Fleming. Batie-Smoose is now part of the new lawsuit as well.
San Jose State provided a statement:
“We have not been served with the lawsuit. We just obtained a copy of the 132-page document at 3:58 p.m. We will not comment at this time,” the statement said.
Fox News Digital previously obtained a statement from San Jose State about earlier reports of the allegations against Fleming of harming Slusser.
“The safety and well-being of our student-athletes and employees is our highest priority. The university has taken and will continue to take multiple steps to provide security, support, and resources to all members of the team as the program navigates this challenging time,” the statement read.
“San José State takes all reports and complaints seriously, but we are unable to provide any information regarding confidential complaints and reports out of respect for the parties involved and due to federal and state privacy laws.”
“The University also has concerns about a number of inaccuracies in the press but is not able to comment further on those in light of the privacy rights of all involved.”
“We will continue to honor the privacy of our employees and students. We require and expect that all of our employees abide by our standards, policies, and applicable laws regarding student and employee privacy.”
Slusser told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that 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.
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