San Jose State's volleyball squad hopped into archetypal spot successful the Mountain West Saturday aft transgender subordinate Blaire Fleming dominated with 24 kills, including a melodramatic game-winning play against Colorado State.
Fleming's ascendant show came conscionable days aft players connected the squad and astir the league filed a lawsuit that alleges information and an unfair vantage the biologic antheral poses implicit different women's volleyball players. But that didn't halt the full squad from rushing to Fleming connected the tribunal to observe the player's winning serve.
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In the deciding 5th set, Fleming acceptable up San Jose State for the triumph with a precocious spike. Then, Fleming made the last serve, which was mishandled by Colorado State's Kate Yoshimoto, clinching a victory. And then, successful a infinitesimal of unbridled competitory adrenaline, each of Fleming's teammates, including players Brooke Slusser, Chandler Manusky and others listed connected the lawsuit, rapidly jumped into the radical celebration.
Slusser and Manusky person alleged Fleming conspired with Colorado State's Malaya Jones to person Slusser spiked successful the look successful the archetypal gathering betwixt the 2 teams Oct. 3, according to the lawsuit.
"Manusky said that astatine Jones’ residence Fleming had shared with Jones the scouting for the CSU-FC crippled and they had discussed Fleming ‘throw[ing] the game’ and however they would acceptable up Jones to ‘blow up’ Slusser and ‘blast’ her successful the look during the game," the tribunal documents state.
"Manusky besides said that Fleming stated, ‘I’m going to permission halfway tribunal open,’ which would let Malaya Jones to person a wide unfastened changeable to effort to ‘blow up Slusser,’ i.e., to effort to deed Brooke Slusser successful the look with the ball."
Slusser appeared connected Fox News Channel's "The Inghram Angle" Friday nighttime to further talk retired against Fleming's beingness connected the squad and the assemblage and Mountain West for enabling it.
Blaire Fleming, a redshirt elder astatine San Jose State University, plays arsenic an extracurricular and right-side hitter connected the women’s volleyball team. (San Jose State University)
"After uncovering retired that they had planned to springiness each different our scouting reports and permission the artifact down truthful the shot could easy beryllium swung astatine maine during the game, it was astonishing for maine to find that accusation out. It was incredibly insane," Slusser said.
One time later, Slusser and Fleming, 2 seniors, appeared connected the tribunal for the team's elder time and played similar mean volleyball teammates. Fleming was adjacent cheered loudly by the San Jose State assemblage during the elder time ceremony.
Fans successful the assemblage held posters that said "dare to struggle, situation to win," and "block retired the haters."
Despite suing implicit alleged information and unfair advantages implicit Fleming's beingness connected the team, Slusser and Manusky contributed to a crippled program that was based connected mounting up Fleming to present almighty spikes.
Fleming led the crippled with 24 kills, 56 full attacks and 10 errors. Fleming fell 1 termination shy of tying a vocation high.
Slusser antecedently joined a suit earlier this year, headed by erstwhile assemblage swimmer Riley Gaines, against the NCAA implicit the association's policies connected sex individuality that allowed Fleming to articulation the squad without the different players knowing the athlete's earthy commencement sex.
"Brooke estimates that Fleming’s spikes were traveling upward of 80 mph, which was faster than she had ever seen a pistillate deed a volleyball," Slusser’s ailment states. "The girls were doing everything they could to dodge Fleming’s spikes but inactive could not afloat support themselves."
Fleming antecedently acceptable a single-game grounds astatine John Champe High School with 30 kills successful a lucifer and a single-season grounds of 266 kills for the school's girls volleyball team. Footage from the athlete's Hudl page of the school-record 30-kill lucifer successful September 2019 shows however hard and accelerated Fleming's spikes came down astatine the precocious schoolhouse level against pistillate opponents.
President Trump adjacent went retired of his mode to remark astir footage of 1 of Fleming's plays successful which the subordinate spiked a shot astatine San Diego State subordinate Keira Herron successful a lucifer earlier this season.
"I saw the slam. It was a slam. I ne'er saw a shot deed truthful hard," Trump said during a Fox News municipality hall. "But different people, adjacent successful volleyball, they’ve been permanently — I mean, they've been truly wounded badly. Women playing men."
The astir caller lawsuit, which is filed against San Jose State and the Mountain West Conference, alleges different players were passed implicit for scholarships successful favour of Fleming.
Fleming received a afloat scholarship, portion a biologic female, Alyssa Sugai, did not person a assistance and alleges she was told by coaches she was not "phyiscal" capable arsenic a subordinate compared to Fleming. Sugai is present portion of the suit and seeking monetary damages aft the determination to assistance Fleming a assistance alternatively caused Sugai's volleyball vocation to end, resulting successful terrible depression.
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Former San Jose State subordinate Elle Patterson is besides portion of the suit and alleges she did not person a scholarship. Patterson besides played down Fleming and alleges the assemblage did not fulfill erstwhile verbal offers of a assistance to her for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Patterson says she adjacent paid afloat tuition to play successful 2023 aft being told she would get a assistance for 2024. However, the programme did not marque bully connected that connection either, she alleges.
San Jose State antecedently addressed the allegations successful a connection to Fox News Digital.
"The information and well-being of our pupil athletes and employees is our highest priority. The assemblage has taken and volition proceed to take multiple steps to provide security, enactment and resources to all members of the squad arsenic the programme navigates this challenging time," the connection said.
"San Jose State takes each reports and complaints seriously, but we are incapable to supply immoderate accusation regarding confidential complaints and reports retired of respect for the parties progressive and owed to national and authorities privateness laws.
"The assemblage besides has concerns astir a fig of inaccuracies successful the property but is not capable to remark further connected those successful airy of privacy rights of each involved. We volition proceed to grant the privateness of our employees and students. We necessitate and expect that each of our employees abide by our standards, policies and applicable laws regarding pupil and worker privacy."
The squad has conscionable 1 lucifer near successful the regular play with a gathering against Fresno State scheduled for Tuesday. Questions inactive stay astir the team's postseason prospects.
San Jose State has had 7 matches connected its docket forfeited amid the contention involving Fleming. Southern Utah, Boise State, Utah State, Wyoming and Nevada each declined to look the Spartans. Boise State and Wyoming forfeited 2 matches each, taking aggregate losses to debar contention against Fleming.
And now, lasting unsocial successful archetypal spot successful the conference, the Spartans are acceptable to person a apical effect successful the Mountain West tournament, starting Nov. 27.
Slusser told Fox News Digital successful an exclusive interrogation she and her teammates are successful limbo astir what a imaginable postseason tally mightiness look similar arsenic they navigate a demoralized locker room.
"We're conscionable mostly wondering, are teams adjacent gonna play us, period, if we spell there? Because of conscionable everything that's happened this season," Slusser said. "It seems similar each fewer days it looks similar It'll beryllium a good time and everything's normal, and past thing other happens. So, I genuinely bash deliberation everyone's conscionable benignant of taking things time by time and taking the punches arsenic they come."
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Jackson Thompson is simply a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He antecedently worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.