SJSU trans scandal: Blaire Fleming makes disputed claims about Brooke Slusser

SPECIAL: Prominent transgender athlete Blaire Fleming has made allegations about former teammate Brooke Slusser’s lifestyle and academics. Slusser disputed the allegations.

Last Sunday, on the one-year anniversary of their last college volleyball game together for San Jose State, which ended in a conference championship loss, Slusser told Fox News Digital that she developed an eating disorder that led to anorexia and loss of her menstrual cycle.

Slusser said the disturbances stemmed from the emotional distress he experienced with Fleming during his final season in 2024. Slusser filed multiple lawsuits after discovering that Fleming was transgender and that the two shared dressing areas and bedrooms during their first season in 2023.

CLICK HERE TO GET MORE SPORTS NEWS ON FOXNEWS.COM

Slusser also fled the San Jose State campus and later dropped classes during his senior semester last spring. She said constant face-to-face harassment from students who opposed her stance made her feel “unsafe” there. He and his family said he is still working to finish his degree.

Fleming responded to Fox News Digital’s social media inquiry to respond to Slusser’s revelations.

“She’s been anorexic and struggling with food for as long as I’ve known her[,] that is, since 2023. He literally weighed himself 2-3 times a day and kept track of it on the whiteboard in his room…. So I don’t really care or feel bad about it. And he didn’t quit his studies[,] failed[,] I hope it helps!” Fleming wrote. “Now please stop hitting me.”

Slusser released a statement to Fox News Digital disputing Fleming’s claims.

“These statements are absolutely untrue. I have always lived a very healthy lifestyle. Even before these events occurred[,] I was very disciplined in feeding myself for athletics and [kept] Follow up to make sure I’m where I need to be[,] To be the best athlete. “Until all the craziness started, my healthy lifestyle became very unhealthy, turning into not eating the amount I should,” Slusser said. he said.

“When it comes to school[,] I have decided to stay home after the fall of 2024 to improve myself and recover. So no[,] “I did not return to San Jose and enroll in more courses at an institution that did not interest me.”

Former SJSU volleyball star Brooke Slusser and her parents, Paul and Kim Slusser, at the Sept. 8 game, with Kim claiming it was “the last good memory we had of her playing.” (Courtesy of Kim Slusser)

Fox News Digital’s initial investigation into Fleming began in April, citing Slusser’s response to an allegation in a New York Times Magazine profile that Fleming was “suicidal” ahead of the 2024 season. The publication also reported that Fleming cried “almost every night” during the scandal.

Slusser said of Fleming’s suicidal thoughts: “If so [Fleming] “It was passing, it was terrible.”

Fleming had previously said that Slusser “needed a life.” This statement came in response to former SJSU assistant volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose’s allegations that Fleming received special treatment from head coach Todd Kress.

“Brooke Slusser and Melissa need a life,” Fleming told Fox News Digital on October 1.

“I have a great life,” Slusser responded.

Who is Blaire Fleming?

Fleming, a biological male, was born in 2002 at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, just south of Omaha, according to the athlete’s SJSU Athletics profile. But Fleming grew up in Virginia.

According to The New York Times, Fleming discovered transgenderism in the 8th grade. It was later reported that at the age of 14, Fleming was working with a doctor and therapist to transition “socially and medically.”

Fleming played girls volleyball at John Champe High School. Listed at 6-foot-10, Fleming is two inches taller than the average female college volleyball player, who is 6-foot-2. NCSA College Recruitment.

In November 2018, Fleming shared a post: highlight reel for college recruiters on high school sports social media site Hudl. Many of the clips show the same type of play over and over again: Fleming leaps high over the net and slams the ball into the ground while trap music plays in the background.

As a senior, Fleming led John Champe to a historic 19-win season in 2019, was named first-team all-district and broke the school’s record for kills in a season, according to Fleming’s SJSU profile page.

Fleming’s college career began at Coastal Carolina during the COVID-affected 2020 season.

After a 9-1 regular season, Coastal Carolina reached the Sun Belt Conference championship match against Texas State, but lost in five sets.

Fleming transferred to SJSU ahead of the 2022 season.

How did things get to this point between Slusser and Fleming?

Brooke Slusser #10 and Blaire Fleming #3 of the San Jose State Spartans call plays during the first set against the Air Force Falcons on Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

Slusser transferred to SJSU for the 2023 season, a year after Fleming’s transfer. Slusser claimed in his lawsuits against the NCAA and the Mountain West Conference that he was never told Fleming’s birth gender and that the two regularly shared hotel rooms on trips.

Slusser and Batie-Smoose, who is pursuing his own lawsuit against the university, told Fox News Digital that Fleming allegedly requested the same room as Slusser and that the request was allegedly granted by team leadership.

“Blaire wanted to room with Brooke Slusser, and she was the person Blaire felt comfortable with, so Blaire got what Blaire wanted,” Batie-Smoose said.

Fox News Digital previously reached out to Fleming and SJSU to respond to these allegations.

Slusser alleged in his lawsuits against the NCAA and the Mountain West that Fleming admitted he was transgender during a conversation with another teammate over ice cream in April 2024.

Slusser later joined Riley Gaines’ lawsuit against the NCAA in September 2024. A series of defeats by rival teams followed. Each defeat brought increased attention in the election season media cycle, placing SJSU’s volleyball players and their opponents in the spotlight of great political attention.

President Donald Trump even mentioned the scandal during Fox News Channel’s all-female town hall event on the campaign trail in October of that year.

The team was assigned regular police protection.

Slusser claimed in his lawsuit against the Mountain West, filed in November, that he was tipped off by teammates about a conversation in which Fleming allegedly discussed a plan to drive a nail into Slusser’s face during the game with an opposing player. Batie-Smoose made the same allegations in a Title IX complaint against the school and was later suspended and his contract was not renewed in January.

Mountain West launched a third-party investigation into the allegations against Fleming and determined there was insufficient evidence to take disciplinary action.

Fox News Digital’s extensive reporting on the circumstances and handling of this investigation sparked critical reactions from the White House, the U.S. Department of Justice, and members of Congress.

FORMER SJSU STAR Brooke SLUSSER MAKE NEW CLAIMS ABOUT INVESTIGATION INTO TRANS TEAMMATE’S ALLEGED SELF-HARMING.

In the final weeks of the 2024 regular season, Slusser and 10 other plaintiffs in his lawsuit against the Mountain West sought injunctive relief to rule Fleming ineligible to continue playing and reverse the penalties imposed on SJSU. Federal judge Kato Crews, appointed by former President Joe Biden, denied the request, keeping Slusser and Fleming together on the field for practices 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, then advanced to the Mountain West championship game after a divisional round loss to Boise State.

However, they lost to Colorado State in the championship match, three sets to one. This defeat ensured that the Spartans did not carry their scandal into the NCAA tournament.

Slusser left campus shortly thereafter at the insistence of his family. According to The New York Times, Fleming continued classes remotely from Virginia the following semester.

Slusser said she was close to returning to play NCAA beach volleyball last spring and even talked to coaches at other schools about recruiting. However, she eventually decided not to do so and moved to North Carolina, where she served as a youth volleyball coach.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

Slusser and her family say she has recovered from anorexia and is working to finish her degree. She aims to establish her own business in the field of dietetics.

Fleming celebrated his graduation from SJSU in a post on his Instagram Stories in May.

The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating the university for possible Title IX violations.

Follow Fox News Digital Sports streaming on Xand subscribe Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.