Brooke Slusser, a former San Jose State University volleyball co-captain, is finishing her final semester of college virtually in her home state of Texas following allegations of on-campus harassment, online threats, and mental health issues related to the scandal that rocked the school’s volleyball program last fall.
Slusser, who is currently suing the school over an alleged incident involving former transgender teammate Blaire Fleming, told Fox News Digital that she and her family made the decision because she no longer felt safe on the Bay Area campus.
“I would just be walking, and I’d have people say things to me, like I had one girl just scream ‘f— you!’ to me,” Slusser told me. “I was in the elevator at my apartment one time, and some girls were walking out saying, ‘Oh, that’s the girl, you should have slapped her when you had the chance,’ so that kind of thing happened.
“I literally did not feel safe. Every time I left the house, I felt like everyone was staring at me, and I felt like I had to watch my back whenever I was on campus.
The college senior first joined Riley Gaines’ lawsuit against the NCAA in September, alleging that SJSU volleyball coaches and administrators withheld information about Fleming’s birth sex from her during their first season together in 2023, all while forcing her to share changing and sleeping areas with the trans athlete.
In November, Slusser sued SJSU and the Mountain West, along with 11 other conference players and one of her former coaches, alleging that Fleming conspired with an opposing player to spike her in the face during a match. The lawsuit also claimed that head coach Todd Kress tried to have Slusser removed from the team.
Despite this, Slusser continued to play for Kress and alongside Fleming, all while regularly speaking out against transgender athletes’ inclusion in women’s sports. Her advocacy received national media coverage.
However, with the attention came concern for her safety. Slusser claims that she received numerous threats prior to her decision to leave campus this semester.
“I had some threats coming in too, so you never know what people will do,” Slusser claimed. “People threatened to confront me on campus, and just those types of things.”
However, Slusser stated that she did not report the majority of these incidents to university administrators.
“I didn’t because everything that was happening, it almost became like a norm, so I can’t really do anything about what people are saying to me, and as long as they aren’t laying their hands on me they can say whatever they want,” she told me.
The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating San Jose State for potential Title IX violations committed during the program’s handling of Fleming, and university President Cynthia Teniente-Matson has told Fox News Digital that the university will cooperate in the investigation.
According to Open Secrets data from the 2024 election cycle, 98.71% of San José State University employee donations went to Democratic candidates in federal elections, while only 0.91% went to Republicans.
A San Jose State spokesperson told Fox News Digital that if Slusser’s situation had been reported, the university would have taken action. She simply decided to return home instead.
“San José State takes these matters seriously and would follow-up on any complaints or issues that are reported to us or we have information about,” according to the statement.
However, even if the university had taken action to address the threats, Slusser felt too burdened by the experience with Fleming and her coaches to stay in California.
“It was probably the most traumatizing thing I’ve ever gone through in my life,” Slusser told me. “I was so exhausted, and I feel like for so long, I was just running on adrenaline to get through it, and I honestly would say I was numb to everything for a while, and I truly lost myself. I like to think of myself as a pretty happy person, but I wasn’t for a while.”
Slusser isn’t the only member of last year’s team to have distanced themselves from the university in the wake of the scandal. Almost every player on the 2024 squad with remaining NCAA eligibility entered the transfer portal shortly after the season ended in December.
Melissa Batie-Smoose, former assistant head coach, was the only coach on staff to speak out against the university’s handling of Fleming and file a Title IX complaint against the school. Her contract was not renewed by SJSU after it expired in January.
Batie-Smoose then experienced vandalism when her home was shot at with a pellet gun earlier this month. Police have not identified a suspect or motive, but Batie-Smoose told Fox News Digital she believes she was targeted because of her recent advocacy against transgender inclusion.
For Slusser, the silver lining of the experience is the national impact she has had on the conversation about transgender inclusion in women’s sports, as well as recent legislative changes to address it.
“I went through a lot having to do this, but there hasn’t been a single moment when I regretted it or wished I hadn’t done it. It was difficult, as I expected, and there is still much to be changed, but there are definitely great baby steps in the right direction,” Slusser said.
On February 5, President Donald Trump signed the “No Men in Women’s Sports Act,” and the NCAA responded by amending its gender eligibility policy the next day.
Nonetheless, many states in the United States, including California, have refused to comply with Trump’s executive order and continue to allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s and girls’ sports.
“I get DMs from younger athletes on a weekly basis saying, ‘I’m going through this, I’ve seen everything that’s happened to you, how did you handle it?’ “It makes me so sad that even young female athletes are having to go through so much,” Slusser said.
“It makes me angry because I don’t understand how someone can’t understand it so strongly… It boggles my mind that they are still fighting for it when everyone understands it is wrong.”
The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act is set to be voted on by the United States Senate within the next week after passing the House of Representatives, as Republican lawmakers seek to establish a stricter national precedent to limit transgender participation in girls’ and women’s sports across the country.
However, the bill will need the support of several Democratic senators to overcome the filibuster and reach Trump’s desk.
