NCAA Volleyball Player Says Coaches Repeatedly Assigned Her To Room With Trans Player At His Request

The co-captain of the San Jose State University women’s volleyball team says she was repeatedly assigned to share a room with a trans-identifying player on her team for overnight trips, apparently at the request of that player. 

Brooke Slusser, speaking to journalist Megyn Kelly, said she was never told her teammate, Blaire Fleming, was biologically male, and only later heard whispers about the rumor from other athletes. Slusser said that when she found out, things started to make sense, namely how Fleming was able to jump so high and spike the ball like no other female player.

“When we have travel trips, there’s two girls to a room, usually, and your coaches just give you anyone on the team,” Slusser told Kelly, adding that this typically rotates between players so the girls can bond with new teammates. 

However, Slusser was repeatedly assigned to room with Fleming — all while not knowing Fleming was trans-identifying and male.

“I noticed as time went on that I kept getting roomed with Blaire, which I found very odd because everyone else on the team was getting switched around,” she said.

“Come to find out later, they asked Blaire who he was comfortable rooming with on away trips,” the athlete said. “And apparently there was a selected few of us that were on that list.” 

Slusser also told Kelly that she’s scared for her safety at practices and said her teammates are constantly dodging spikes from Fleming, who’s six-foot-one.

“We don’t feel safe…the power is just unmatchable for any woman…”@BrookeSlusser, college volleyball player, speaks out about competitive advantage her male teammate has – and her decision to speak out about it and sue the NCAA.

FULL interview: https://t.co/dbmnQj00th pic.twitter.com/Tm0qSx1TnX

— The Megyn Kelly Show (@MegynKellyShow) October 13, 2024

San Jose and the NCAA allegedly concealed the fact that Fleming is male from other teams in the Mountain West Conference. After the girls in the conference became aware, a total of five teams so far — Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State, and the University of Nevada, Reno — have refused to take the court against San Jose. The forfeits have been catalogued as losses. 

After the Nevada team departed from their administration and announced that they would not play against San Jose, Slusser applauded the girls.

“Round of applause to the girls of the [Nevada Wolf Pack] volleyball team,” she wrote on X. “Deciding to go against what the school was forcing on you as young women and taking a stand for what you believe takes courage! Another great step in the right direction for women’s sports!”

Round of applause to the girls of the @NevadaWolfPack volleyball team.Deciding to go against what the school was forcing on you as young women and taking a stand for what you believe takes courage! Another great step in the right direction for women’s sports!

— Brooke Slusser (@BrookeSlusser) October 15, 2024

Currently, more than a dozen collegiate female athletes are suing the NCAA for knowingly violating Title IX by permitting biologically male athletes to compete against females, violate their privacy, and cost them opportunities. Riley Gaines, an advocate for girls and women’s sports, is named as a plaintiff. Gaines was a top swimmer from the University of Kentucky who was forced to compete against a man named Lia Thomas at the NCAA women’s championship.

In September, Slusser joined the lawsuit. She told Kelly it’s been a challenge with some of the hate she’s received, even from her own school, but says her teammates have been her support.