Ex-SJSU coach defends Brooke Slusser against Blaire Fleming’s claims

Exclusive: Former San Jose State assistant volleyball coach Melissa Batty-Smoes has gotten into the latest war of words between the former players Brooke Slusser And Blair Fleming.

Fleming is transgender Disputed claims were made that Slusser had been anorexic since they first met in 2023 and had failed out of her classes at SJSU. Slusser denied Fleming’s statements, and previously said she developed an eating disorder due to stress and anxiety resulting from playing and staying with Fleming after discovering that Fleming was biologically male, and the highly publicized scandal that followed.

The conflict between the players and subsequent lawsuits filed by Slusser against the NCAA Conference and Mountain West Conference over the situation put the players and the entire program under enormous national scrutiny in their final season together in 2024.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

SJSU transfer player Blaire Fleming and teammate Brooke Slusser went to a magic show and spent Thanksgiving together in Las Vegas despite an ongoing lawsuit. (Thien Anh Truong/San Jose State Athletics)

Now, Patty-Samuse has offered her take on the disputed claims between the athletes.

“As far as I know, Brooke’s mental health Academic performance was excellent during her first year and a half as a student-athlete in the program. She has been committed, consistent, and does well both personally and academically. But after sharing her experience, the pressures around her intensified,” Patti-Smus told Fox News Digital.

“She has been reprimanded on campus and on social media, which appears to have caused her health and academic performance to decline. In my view, this context is important and highlights the magnitude of what she has endured in a short period of time.”

Patty Smoose also expressed his “disappointment” over Fleming’s disputed comments about Slusser.

“I’m a little surprised and disappointed by Blair Fleming’s comments. Even if I was disappointed or hurt by Brock’s actions, I was hoping there would be a little more compassion — especially from someone who has been the subject of personal attacks and understands how difficult these things are. Personal difficulties should give us a deeper understanding and more compassion for what others may be facing, not less,” Patty-Smus added.

“Struggles with food, mental health, or academic stress are serious matters that deserve compassion, not dismissal. Regardless of the interpersonal dynamics, speaking harshly about someone who is clearly going through a difficult time is not something we want to encourage or normalize. Brooke’s issues with food and her grades are not excuses, but rather signs of someone who is going through a lot.”

Fox News Digital was unable to reach Fleming for comment, as Fleming’s Instagram account has been deactivated in recent days.

The law firm that worked to keep the SJSU TRANS PLAYER eligible also acquitted the athlete of conspiring to harm his teammate.

Slusser told Fox News Digital on Nov. 30 — the one-year anniversary of her last game with Fleming — about the effect the situation has had on her body and academics.

“Because of the stress and how anxious I felt every day, I wasn’t eating at all,” Slusser said. “I went from about 160 to 128 [pounds] In that one semester. It’s definitely not healthy for someone like me to be that heavy, and I ended up missing my period for nine months. So it was definitely dangerous.”

Slusser, who is 5 feet 11 inches tall, added that people at home started to notice.

She added: “When I returned home, some of my friends and family were very worried about me.” “Some of my friends would say, ‘You look tired all the time. You always look dead…” I was able to go home for three days in the fall semester of my senior year, and I had a friend tell me later that when I saw her, she came home and cried to her mother, because she was so worried about me, just because she knew I looked unhealthily thin.”

Then her father, Paul Slusser, insisted she return home to Texas from San Jose after the 2024 season and fall semester. The family said they then tried to finish their final semester and degree online, but later abandoned classes to focus on physical and mental rehabilitation. Slusser and her family say she has recovered from anorexia and is working to finish her studies. She aspires to start her own project in the field of nutrition science.

The family is still sailing to complete their degree.

Fleming responded to Slusser’s position, presenting the disputed claims to Fox News Digital on December 7.

“She has been anorexic and has had difficulty eating for as long as I have known her[,] Aka since 2023. She has been literally weighing herself 2-3 times a day and keeping track of it on the white board in her room…. So I really don’t care about her or feel bad for her. She did not leave her lessons[,] You failed[,] Hope this helps!” Fleming said.

Brooke Slusser, left, and Blair Fleming (Andrew Weavers/Getty Images)

Slusser immediately responded, calling Fleming’s statement “incorrect.”

“These statements are untrue. I have always lived a very healthy lifestyle. Before these events occurred[,] I have been very disciplined in fueling myself for athletics and [kept] Track to make sure I was where I needed to be[,] To be the best athlete. “It wasn’t until all this craziness started that my healthy lifestyle turned into a very unhealthy lifestyle of not eating as much as I should,” Slusser said.

“As for school[,] I have decided to stay home after the fall of 2024 to better myself and heal. So no[,] “I didn’t go back to San Jose and enroll myself in more courses at an institution that didn’t hold my interest.”

Slusser claimed in her lawsuits against the NCAA and the Mountain West Conference that she was never told Fleming’s sex at birth, and that the two regularly shared hotel rooms on foreign trips. Slusser also said in the lawsuits that Fleming admitted he was transgender during a conversation over ice cream in April 2024.

Slusser then joined Riley Gaines’ lawsuit against the NCAA in September 2024. What followed was a series of seizures by opposing teams. Each loss exacerbated the heightened attention in the election season media cycle, putting SJSU volleyball players and their opponents under an enormous political spotlight.

president Donald Trump He even mentioned the scandal while on the campaign trail in October of that year, during a women-only Fox News town hall event.

The police were assigned to protect the team on a regular basis.

Slusser claimed it Mountain West suedwhich was filed in November, was allegedly informed by teammates of an alleged conversation Fleming had with an opposing player, in which she discussed a plan to punch Slusser in the face during a game.

Patty-Smus reported those same allegations in a Title IX complaint against the school, and she was later suspended and her contract was not renewed in January. Patty Smoos ever since She filed her own lawsuit Against SJSU regarding the termination of her employment.

Mountain West commissioned a third-party investigation into the allegations against Fleming, and determined that insufficient evidence could be found to impose discipline.

Fox News Digital has Reported widely About the circumstances of this investigation and how it was handled, which sparked critical reactions from the White House, the US Department of Justice, and members of Congress.

EX-SJSU STAR BROOKE SLUSSER makes new claims about investigation into her colleague’s alleged plot to harm her

In the final weeks of the 2024 regular season, Slusser and 10 other plaintiffs in her lawsuit against the Mountain West filed a request for a preliminary injunction to rule Fleming ineligible to continue playing, and to void the forfeiture owed to SJSU. Federal Judge Kato Cruz, appointed by former President Joe BidenHe denied the request, keeping Slusser and Fleming on the field together for practice and games.

Slusser and Fleming were ultimately named to the Mountain West all-conference team, as SJSU’s only honorees.

They finished the season with a 14-7 record, aided by six conference losses, and then advanced to the Mountain West championship game afterward. Boise State Lost in the divisional round.

But they lost in the title match to Colorado State, three sets to one. The loss ensured that the Spartans would not take their scandal to the NCAA Tournament.

Slusser left campus soon after at her parents’ insistence. According to The New York Times, Fleming also resumed classes remotely the following semester from Virginia.

Click here to download the FOX NEWS app

Slusser said she came close to returning to play NCAA beach volleyball last spring, even having discussions with coaches at other schools about recruiting. But in the end she decided not to, and moved there North CarolinaWhere she worked as a youth volleyball coach.

The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating the university for possible Title IX violations related to its dealings with Fleming.

Follow Fox News Digital Sports coverage on Xand subscribe to Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter.