SJSU Volleyball Scandal: Federal Probe Finds Team Recruited Trans Athlete for Competitive Edge
Federal documents from the U.S. Department of Education’s investigation into the San Jose State University women’s volleyball program reveal that the team allegedly recruited a transgender athlete specifically to gain a competitive advantage, without informing female players of the athlete’s birth sex. The findings, published by Fox News, have reignited the legal battle between the California State University system and the Trump administration over Title IX compliance.
Background
The controversy centers on Blaire Fleming, a transgender woman who played for SJSU from 2022 to 2024. Fleming, who transitioned socially and medically at age 14, played girls’ volleyball in high school in Virginia before accepting a scholarship to Coastal Carolina in 2020. After a year off, Fleming transferred to SJSU in summer 2022 at the invitation of then-head coach Trent Kersten.
At the time, NCAA policy allowed transgender women to compete in women’s sports after one year of testosterone suppression — a policy that had been in place since 2011. The landscape shifted dramatically after President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, signing Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which forced the NCAA to ban all transgender women from women’s competitions effective February 2025.
Key Findings
According to the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, Kersten began actively recruiting a “male volleyball athlete from another university” in April 2022. Internal emails show Kersten contacted SJSU’s PRIDE Center and Gender Equity Center to discuss recruiting a male player for the women’s team, stating the athlete “is good enough to make us better.”
The ED concluded that “San José State University knowingly recruited a male student athlete to join the San José State University women’s indoor volleyball team with the intent of gaining a competitive advantage over other teams.” The findings also allege that “most, if not all” of the female players shared dorm rooms, hotel rooms, and locker rooms with Fleming without knowing the athlete’s birth sex.
Internal communications revealed concern about whether to inform the team. According to the findings, Kersten stated he “wanted to ask the women on the team their thoughts after they found out Student 1 was joining the team, but he did not want to relinquish decision making power to the women on the team regarding whether a male player would be allowed to join the team.”
The Fallout
The scandal triggered a cascade of legal actions. Multiple former SJSU players — including Brooke Slusser, Elle Patterson, and Alyssa Sugai — filed a Title IX lawsuit against SJSU and the CSU system, alleging they were never informed about Fleming’s birth sex before sharing intimate spaces. Former assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, claiming she was not told before accepting the job. Anti-trans activist and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines also led a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA.
During the 2024 season, five universities — Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State, Nevada, and Southern Utah — forfeited matches against SJSU in protest. SJSU won seven matches via forfeit that year. Despite the turmoil, Fleming posted a career-high 3.88 kills per set in 2024, ranking second in the Mountain West Conference, and earned an Honorable Mention All-Mountain West selection.
Legal Battle with the Federal Government
In March 2026, SJSU and the CSU system sued the federal government to challenge the ED’s findings and prevent punitive action, including the potential withholding of federal funding. SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson stated, “Because we believe OCR’s findings aren’t grounded in the facts or the law, SJSU and the CSU filed a lawsuit today against the federal government.” She added, “Our position is simple: We have followed the law and cannot be punished for doing so.”
The ED’s findings were provided to Fox News Digital by SJSU in response to a public records request, as reported by The Los Angeles Times.
Broader Implications
The SJSU case has become a flashpoint in the national debate over transgender participation in women’s sports. The Wikipedia article on the controversy notes it is part of a series on transgender topics and references the “2020s anti-LGBTQ movement in the United States” and the “Persecution of transgender people under the second Trump administration.”
According to The New York Times Magazine, Fleming experienced suicidal thoughts due to the harassment and public scrutiny. Former teammate Elle Patterson described Fleming as a “very nice, great person” and “warm,” while Slusser acknowledged the toll on all involved, saying of Fleming’s reported suicidal thoughts, “If that’s what [Fleming] was going through, that’s terrible.”
What’s Next
The outcome of the CSU lawsuit against the federal government remains uncertain. The case will test whether universities can be held retroactively liable under Title IX for policies that were legal at the time they were implemented. Meanwhile, the broader landscape for transgender athletes in the NCAA has been fundamentally altered by the Trump administration’s executive order, with other transgender athletes reporting that their schools have revoked opportunities, with one telling ESPN that “no school wants to be the next San Jose State.”
As the legal proceedings unfold, the SJSU volleyball scandal stands as a defining moment in the ongoing struggle over fairness, inclusion, and the rights of both cisgender and transgender athletes in American sports.