SAN JOSE, California — San Jose State University volleyball coach Todd Kress denied allegations published in online publication Quillette that a player on his team colluded with a Colorado State player in a match on October 3.
Kress told ESPN that the article, published Friday, was “full of lies.”
It's the latest controversy involving the SJSU team this season. Five opponents have lost games against SJSU, starting with Southern Utah University, which declined to play its scheduled Sept. 14 game. Mountain West Conference teams Boise State, Utah State, Wyoming and Nevada also refused to play, which counted as losses in conference play for each of those teams.
Neither institution has given any specific reason for the losses. The Nevada players released a statement before their game scheduled for Oct. 26 saying they “refuse to participate in any game that promotes injustice against female athletes.” Instead of playing in San Jose, nine Nevada players participated in a rally in Reno advocating for the exclusion of transgender athletes from women's sports.
According to Quillette's story, SJSU associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose filed a Title IX complaint alleging that an SJSU player, whom teammate Brooke Slusser identified as transgender, shared the scouting report of the team with a CSU player during an off-campus meeting. night before the game. The complaint, the story said, alleged that the players “devised a plan” to leave part of the court open so the CSU player could target Slusser, the SJSU captain and point guard who has openly expressed her belief that her teammate team should not be allowed to play. San Jose State entered the game undefeated but was swept by Colorado State.
ESPN requested the Title IX complaint from San Jose State but has not received it. SJSU spokeswoman Michelle Smith McDonald declined to confirm to ESPN whether one had been filed. Batie-Smoose was not with the team Saturday during the 3-1 win against New Mexico. Smith McDonald said the school “will not be providing any further information on this matter.” ESPN's attempts to contact Batie-Smoose were unsuccessful.
On Saturday, Kress confirmed that the meeting between the SJSU player and the CSU player occurred the night of Oct. 2, but said no scouting report was shared.
“We didn't do our scouting report and no one had access to our scouting report until game day,” Kress said.
After practice on Oct. 7, Kress said another SJSU player who was present at the off-campus conversation informed her that he overheard her teammate and the CSU player talking about how they would line up to open up areas of the court. to make freer swings. . The anonymous player told Kress he thought it was a joke, but reported him anyway.
Kress said she called CSU volleyball head coach Emily Kohan the same day she received the allegations and they reviewed the game film. Colorado State did not respond to ESPN's request for comment.
“I spoke with [Kohan]”Kress said. “We both watched the game film. “None of us saw anything that made us realize there was any foul play at play.”
Kress said both players met with their head coaches and he referred the matter to SJSU's Title IX officer for review. He does not know if an investigation has been opened or the status of the report.
“Both [student-athletes] “They said they were surprised that anyone would think anything of that, because it was totally a joke,” Kress said. “They were just talking and venting because, you know, they were frustrated with the situation.”
According to Quillette's story, Batie-Smoose filed his complaint Tuesday with officials at SJSU, the Mountain West Conference and the NCAA.
“San Jose State takes all reports and complaints seriously and is reviewing them,” an SJSU spokesperson said in a statement Friday. “Due to federal and state privacy laws, the university cannot comment on active reports or complaints. The university is also concerned about a number of inaccuracies in the article, but cannot comment further on them in light of those laws Additionally, the university has significant concerns about apparent violations of student and employee privacy and will address them as appropriate.”
Federal law prevents universities and their employees from publicly releasing most records and information about their students unless the individual waives the privacy.
“We became aware of this complaint when it was filed earlier this week,” Mountain West said in a statement. “We are reviewing the document and have launched an investigation to gather all the facts.”
On September 23, Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA, claiming that one of his teammates is transgender and has an unfair advantage. The San Jose State player, who is competing in her third season with the team, has never publicly stated that she is transgender, which is why ESPN is not naming her. The lawsuit Slusser originally joined was filed on behalf of Riley Gaines and 15 other female athletes after transgender swimmer Lia Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania won the 500-yard freestyle national championship in 2022. It argues that the NCAA transgender athlete policies violate plaintiffs' policies. Title IX Rights.
Slusser said her teammate poses a safety risk to both opponents and other SJSU players. Slusser has declined multiple interview requests from ESPN.
“I don't feel safe,” Slusser said on “The Megyn Kelly Show” last month. “I went to my coaches and told them that I refuse to play against [her] if there is not at least one block above. … It's not safe.”
Since 2022, the NCAA has taken a sport-by-sport approach to determining the eligibility of transgender athletes in the women's category, using policies adopted by each sport's national governing body. USA Volleyball requires transgender women to suppress their testosterone below 10 nmol/L for a period of one year prior to competition. The NCAA uses that benchmark to determine your eligibility.
San Jose State has declared that all players on its volleyball roster meet NCAA eligibility requirements.
San Jose State's next game is scheduled to be played against UNLV on November 7. Boise State has said it will not play its scheduled Nov. 21 game against SJSU. It is unknown if Wyoming will play its other scheduled game against SJSU on Nov. 14.
The top six finishers from the Mountain West Conference qualify to compete in the conference tournament scheduled for Nov. 27-30. The winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. SJSU (13-3, 9-3) is in second place with five conference games remaining on its schedule.
