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.

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.”