Former San Jose State University (SJSU) volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose alleges a school official told her transgender player Blaire Fleming could not compete at one point during the 2023 season because Flemingâs testosterone level exceeded the eligibility limit.
In a new interview with OutKick, Batie-Smoose, who is now the head volleyball coach at Cisco College, claimed SJSU associate athletics director Laura Alexander informed her of Fleming’s failed test before the womenâs volleyball team left for its first conference match.
“So it was told to me by our associate AD, confirming to me that Fleming was not showing up for the test, the blood test,” Batie-Smoose said.
INSIDE THE FALLOUT OF THE SJSU VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: âTHIS IS AN OBVIOUS PROBLEMâ
“And that Fleming had one day left before we were going to leave for our first conference match, and that he needed to come in and test. And then, then she proceeded to tell me the next day that after the test, that the testosterone levels were too high, and Fleming is ineligible to play and will not be going on the trip that day.”
The coach added that the alleged failed test was kept “a secret” from the rest of the team.
The allegation also appears in Batie-Smooseâs Oct. 13 federal lawsuit against the California State University (CSU) trustees and 11 SJSU employees.
Fleming then missed a long stretch of the 2023 season. SJSUâs athletics website claimed the player had not competed since Sept. 16 of that year “due to injuries,” in a November 2023 game recap.
Batie-Smoose said, “The injury happened the day that Fleming went to go get tested, and it was very questionable.”
Batie-Smoose believes the injury explanation helped keep the alleged eligibility issue secret. Her lawsuit also describes that conclusion as her belief.
EX-SJSU VOLLEYBALL PLAYER SPEAKS OUT ON ALLEGED SCHOLARSHIP DECEPTION BY COACH DURING TRANS SCANDAL
“Around the same time the testosterone results were revealed, Fleming thereafter missed conference matches because of a reported hand injury, which Plaintiff believes was an excuse to hide his ineligibility to play because of his hormone level,” the lawsuit states.
SJSU’s own game records confirm that Fleming missed matches, but they do not establish whether a testosterone test result played a role in the absence.
In 2023, NCAA rules allowed transgender women to play on womenâs teams, but they had to meet requirements for hormone treatment and testosterone levels. The NCAA kept that policy, known as Phase Two, in place through the 2023â24 school year.
Under that framework, transgender women had to complete at least one year of testosterone suppression treatment before competing on a womenâs team. They also had to provide blood-test results that met the NCAAâs limit for their sport. For womenâs volleyball, the Phase Two limit was below 10 nanomoles per liter of total testosterone in the blood.
The requirements applied before an athleteâs first competition in each season segment, including nonconference games. Schools had to submit eligibility documents for an NCAA medical panel to review before the athlete competed. The requirement did not begin only when conference play started.
Schools also had to certify athletesâ eligibility before allowing them to compete. If an athlete became ineligible, NCAA rules required the school to immediately keep that athlete out of competition.
SJSU WAS TOLD OF DECADES-OLD ALLEGATIONS AGAINST VOLLEYBALL COACH DURING CONTROVERSIAL 2024 SEASON
Batie-Smooseâs account does not establish that Fleming played while ineligible. Fleming did return in November of that season, missing 17 matches.
SJSU has declined to respond to a request for clarification.
“Due to pending litigation, San Jose State is unable to respond to your inquiry,” a university spokesperson told OutKick.
OutKick also reached out to Fleming, the NCAA, the Mountain West and the CSU for comment, but did not receive a response.
Batie-Smooseâs allegations extend beyond Flemingâs eligibility. She also says her relationship with head coach Todd Kress unraveled as their political views grew apart â and accuses him of using her support for Trump to turn players against her.
She described Kress as a longtime friend who once shared her conservative beliefs.
“Todd was a conservative Republican, and we shared the same views on a lot of things. And thatâs why we were friends for so long,” she said. “And then somewhere in the craziness, he went left and really extreme left.”
Asked when she noticed that change, Batie-Smoose said it happened “before the first Trump election.”
The two continued discussing politics, she said. But she alleges Kress began raising their differences in front of athletes, crossing a boundary she wanted to keep between their personal disagreements and their coaching jobs.
“Oh, yeah. We talked about politics all the time,” she said. “You know, once he turned, it was more, um, he would bring it up in settings that I felt like it was very inappropriate.”
“We can talk and debate on those subjects when weâre in a room together, but not in front of student athletes. I feel like that is not the time and the place to speak on that.”
Batie-Smoose said the treatment intensified after they arrived at SJSU in 2023. She believes Kress brought up her political and religious views to mock her and weaken her relationships with the team.
“Especially once we arrived at San Jose State, and Iâve referred to this before, this man was unrecognizable,” she said.
She alleged that Kress knew which players would object to her views and raised the subject in front of them to create division.
Asked whether Kress told those players that he had once held similar conservative beliefs, Batie-Smoose replied: “Oh, no way. No way. He would never state that.”
She said she did not share his past political views with the athletes herself.
“I do not talk about those things in front of athletes ever,” she said.
Her lawsuit alleges that Kress called her a “Trump lover.” It also says she repeatedly expressed her religious belief that “God made man and woman,” and that she believes his treatment reflected hostility toward her faith.
She further alleges that he cornered and berated her during an office confrontation in about August 2023, after a canceled recruiting visit. The complaint says he threatened that he could get her fired.
Batie-Smoose says she reported the encounter to administrators and human resources. She alleges they told her Kress was her boss and she needed to listen to him.
Her attorney, Vernadette Broyles, described what she sees as a broader effort to silence her client.
“There was a watchdog that was assigned to be at every practice and to travel with Melissa to watch what she said, to watch what she did,” Broyles said.
The lawsuit identifies a university administrator in connection with that allegation. The complaint presents the claimed purpose as Batie-Smooseâs belief.
CSU has defended its handling of Batie-Smoose in its March lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education.
The employment dispute grew as the volleyball controversy spread.
During the 2024 season, former SJSU co-captain Slusser publicly challenged Flemingâs participation, and several opponents refused to play against SJSU. Batie-Smoose filed a Title IX complaint Oct. 29 alleging unequal treatment and failures to address concerns inside the program.
SJSU placed Batie-Smoose on paid leave days later. Its suspension letter cited several grounds, including alleged disclosure of private student information, differential treatment of athletes and unprofessional conduct. Batie-Smoose disputes those grounds.
On Jan. 31, 2025, the university told her it would not renew her temporary appointment. Batie-Smoose then filed an employment lawsuit against SJSU last September.
Then, this year, on Sept. 4, Judge Noël Wise dismissed her second amended complaint in an earlier employment case. Wise found that her allegations did not adequately show that SJSU punished her because of her sex or for raising complaints protected by law. The judge emphasized the complaintâs account that SJSU acted after she shared student information with the media despite instructions to keep it confidential.
Wise allowed her to amend. The ruling addressed whether that complaint stated a valid legal claim. It did not decide the dispute after a trial.
The October filing accuses officials of violating her rights to speak, practice her faith and hold political beliefs. It also alleges unequal treatment under the law. Batie-Smoose seeks reinstatement or a comparable job, compensation and correction of adverse personnel records.
Federal investigators have separately challenged SJSUâs handling of the volleyball program.
In January, the Education Departmentâs Office for Civil Rights concluded that the school violated Title IX over athletic participation, facilities and its response to complaints. The agency also raised concerns about unequal treatment in employment, while acknowledging that incomplete records limited its conclusions.
CSU disputes the federal findings. The system sued the Education Department in March, arguing that SJSU followed the law and NCAA rules that governed the seasons under review.
Batie-Smoose says legal advice shaped how much she shared publicly as the dispute unfolded.
“When this all began, I did not have legal representation,” she said.
THE CRAIG CARTON SHOWâUNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!
“I mean, we have a lawsuit here and we want to win, and we also want to make change.”
She has since returned to coaching. Cisco College in Texas announced her hiring as head volleyball coach in April.
“This is what God intended me to do,” she said.
She described the new job as a chance to lead young women again while her case moves forward.
“God put me here. I have a purpose, and Iâm so blessed that I get to lead these young women again, and Iâm having a lot of fun at it.”
