To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE


SHARE THIS ARTICLE Printer friendly version of this page

Women's Volleyball Coach Suspended Indefinitely for Filing Complaint against Male on Team

Sarah Holliday : Nov 5, 2024  The Washington Stand

"...Administrators at this university cannot tell the difference between a male and a female—this is [a] concern, especially when these people are meant to run a university that educates the future American workforce. How could anyone feel confident that a student graduating from such a place would be equipped to perform any job? For San Jose State to suspend a coach willing to point out that the emperor is not wearing any clothes shows that they are willing to go to any lengths to keep up this dangerous charade." -Mary Szoch, a former Division I athlete and director of Family Research Council's Center for Human Dignity

[WashingtonStand.com] Five women's volleyball teams in the Mountain West Conference have refused to compete against the San Jose State University (SJSU) team with a transgender-identifying biological male player. This trend started with Southern Utah University, and with each team that has chosen to forfeit in the name of fairness in women's sports, support has grown. However, it appears the assistant coach for SJSU's volleyball team, Melissa Batie-Smoose, is now facing punishment for filing a complaint against the male. (Image: Pixabay)

Batie-Smoose noticed that having a biological male, the transgender-identifying Blaire Fleming, on the women's team affected the other players. Out of concern, she chose to break the silence by filing a Title IX complaint with the school. This action, however, cost the coach her position. The university released a statement to OutKick that said they take "all reports and complaints seriously." However, after reviewing Batie-Smoose's complaint, they chose to suspend her indefinitely.

"We had nine student-athletes who had not previously played on the SJSU team," Batie-Smoose wrote in her complaint. "It is my understanding that none of these players [were] told before coming to SJSU that Fleming's natal sex is male, or that there was any player with a male birth sex on the team." According to Batie-Smoose, these are acts that violate Title IX.

The complaint also included allegations that Fleming "conspired with an opposing team's player to impact the outcome of a match and potentially injure teammate Brook Slusser," who has expressed concern about a biological man playing on the team. As The Washington Times highlighted, Batie-Smoose also "accused the university of showing favoritism toward Fleming at the expense of other players ... and pressuring other players to keep quiet about Fleming's transgender identity."

Multiple outlets have acknowledged that these are significant claims. As OutKick's Dan Zaksheske wrote, "If these allegations are true, they are incredibly serious."

"Not only would Fleming have thrown a match," he continued, "Fleming would have knowingly and purposefully endangered a teammate." This would mean "that Fleming is not a victim in any way, shape, or form and is just part of the bully brigade that attempts to silence all detractors by any means necessary. If these allegations prove to be true, Fleming should be banned from NCAA competition for life and perhaps even face criminal charges."

Slusser, the captain of the SJSU volleyball team who also filed a lawsuit against the school, spoke out as well. "My assistant coach spoke truth to protect my team," she posted on X. "Then," she added, "they fire her. They took away the only safe space we had in the program. Because she knew that it was right to stand up for the 18 women on the team. Not one man."

In an interview with OutKick, Slusser went into greater detail. "We aren't happy, and we don't feel safe anymore," she said. "Melissa was that person that we felt like as long as she was there, we had someone that would stand up for us. And now there's no one there that will." Slusser believes that SJSU administrators "weren't happy" that Batie-Smoose supported the girls who were concerned over Fleming's participation. "And they weren't happy about it because, obviously, they decided to fully support having a man on the team and not wanting to support anyone but that one person," Slusser reasoned. "I think her speaking publicly finally gave them a legal reason to get rid of her."

But despite the firing, Slusser stated, "I am so proud of her for speaking the truth. Everyone on the team appreciated it, and a lot of the girls in the locker room said how happy they were that she finally was able to speak out [on a situation] that we all knew needed to be talked about."

This all comes as the topic of fairness in women's sports has become a galvanizing issue in the 2024 election cycle. In fact, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has made this a major emphasis in his campaign. Just this past weekend, the former president invited the Roanoke College women's swim team to speak at his rally in Salem, Virginia.

Trump introduced the team on Saturday as "brave" for standing up against "the transgender fanatics" after a biological male tried to join their team. "As female athletes," said team captain Lily Mullens, "we know that men have an inherent advantage over women in sports, and due to current policies, though, men are competing against women of all ages in all sports." She went on to address how "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have advocated for and pushed for this anti-woman, sex-based discrimination to continue all over this country." As Mullens contended, "Point-blank, it's unfair."

As to how the Mountain West Conference will resolve the growing controversy, a spokesperson has said that allegations have been acknowledged, and the conference is "reviewing the document and has initiated an investigation to gather all the facts."

Mary Szoch, a former Division I athlete and director of Family Research Council's Center for Human Dignity, told The Washington Stand, "San Jose State University is not a school any parent should feel comfortable sending their son or daughter to."

She went on to address how "administrators at this university cannot tell the difference between a male and a female—this is [a] concern, especially when these people are meant to run a university that educates the future American workforce. How could anyone feel confident that a student graduating from such a place would be equipped to perform any job?"

As Szoch further emphasized, "For San Jose State to suspend a coach willing to point out that the emperor is not wearing any clothes shows that they are willing to go to any lengths to keep up this dangerous charade." It also shows that "they don't care that women's lives are at risk because of it," she added.

In light of the presidential election, Szoch highlighted the fact that "one side insists that men can be women and the safety of women doesn't matter. The other side stands for truth." "As we move forward," Szoch concluded, "we need to work for the day when everyone accepts biological realities and the idea of a man playing a woman's sport is called out as absolutely ridiculous." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.







SHARE THIS ARTICLE Printer friendly version of this page

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

Other Recent Articles from Breaking Christian News

Why the New RomCom ‘MERV’ Can Bring You Joy This Christmas

How the 'Heavens Declare the Glory of God': What One Man's Research Has Revealed about The Star of Bethlehem

Over 50 Tren de Aragua Gang Members Imported Under Democrats Indicted in Nebraska in Massive Nationwide ATM Jackpotting Scheme

205 Child Victims Located and Rescued in DOJ Sex Exploitation Op

Trump Admin Pausing All Off Shore Wind Project Construction Due To National Security Concerns

Trump Grants Federal Workers Two Additional Christmas Holidays

America Fest 2025: Erika Kirk Endorses 'My Husband's Friend' JD Vance for President

Brent Bozell Confirmed as US Ambassador to South Africa

Jury Quickly Convicts Judge Who Helped Illegal Migrant Escape ICE

Feds Estimate Somali-Linked Fraud in Walz's Minnesota Could Top $9 Billion

Trump SUSPENDS 'Green Card Lottery' after Program Let Brown University–MIT Shooting Suspect Enter the US

Brown, MIT Shooter Found Dead for Days in NH Storage Unit; Motive Still a Mystery

House Passes Bill to Criminalize Transgender Mutilation of Children

November Inflation Falls to 2.7%, Lower than Expected: 'This Is Good News for Wall Street; It’s Good News for Main Street'

MOVIEGUIDE's Review of the New Animated Film: DAVID

Massachusetts Drops Controversial Gender Ideology Mandate for Licensing Foster Care Parents

Nearly 40% of Women Suffer Severe Grief for Years after Abortion, Miscarriage: Study

Former Pfizer Vice President: COVID Shots Were 'Designed to Cause Injury,' Reduce Fertility

Dutch Sheets Shares a Warning from the US National Counterterrorism Center

Venezuela: Trump's Pressure Campaign and Maduro's Fury



Search the Articles Archives

Keyword:  
Author:  
Words Posted On:  
Day Month Year



BCN Plus

Follow BCN on Twitter
Are You Praying for Our Government Leaders?
BCN Staff

Steve Shultz
Steve Shultz, Managing Editor
Founder and Owner


Aimee Herd
Aimee Herd, Editor


BCN Plus
Are You Praying for President Trump?
 
 

All articles on this site and emails from BCN are copyrighted property of Breaking Christian News. Permission is given to link to, or share a BCN story if proper attribution is given to both the original writer and summarizer of the story. Breaking Christian News 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.


Breaking Christian News is a division of Elijah List Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved


Disclaimer: Articles and links, as well as the source articles linked to; do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Breaking Christian News.

editor@breakingchristiannews.com