Almost a year after losing her job as an assistant volleyball coach at San Jose State due to her contract not being renewed, Melissa Batty Smooth is seeing her former university facing potential consequences from the federal government.
Batty Smooth gained attention within the Save Women’s Sports movement in late 2024 when she filed a Title IX complaint against the school regarding its treatment of a transgender athlete named Blair Fleming. Among her allegations was the first public claim that Fleming conspired to injure SJSU volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser during a match.
As a result, she was suspended from the program and, unfortunately, hasn’t found any work in her field since.
However, on Wednesday, Batty Smooth experienced a personal victory when she found out that the U.S. Department of Education concluded that SJSU violated Title IX in its handling of Fleming’s case.
“It was a huge win for me personally,” Batty Smooth expressed. “I mean, we’ve felt the violation all along with what female athletes like myself have gone through, so hearing this is really significant.”
Yet, she is eager to see concrete outcomes. “I think the way forward for me is to win in court. It’s really about winning, and the university has to face some serious repercussions for their actions,” she stated.
She emphasizes it’s far from over, saying, “I don’t want anyone to think it’s finished. We have a long battle ahead, and we need to resolve this at the highest level, legally.”
Batty Smooth has initiated a lawsuit against SJSU, which is challenging the California State University (CSU) System’s Board of Regents since it operates within that framework. Her attorney, Vernadette Broyles, believes her suspension was a direct backlash for filing the Title IX complaint against Fleming.
Now, they are hoping the Department of Education’s ruling will bolster their case in court.
“We expect this will have a favorable effect on her case,” Broyles pointed out. “When a regulatory body asserts that a federal law has been broken, courts usually pay attention to those findings, considering them quite significant for federal claims.”
Broyles is also pushing for the Department of Education to take a more active role in the lawsuit. “We hope the Department will consider intervening in our case, either by getting involved directly or by issuing a statement of interest,” she remarked, indicating it would be beneficial.
The Department of Education has imposed a 10-day deadline for SJSU to comply with several directives or risk facing “imminent enforcement action.” These directives mandate things like:
- A public acknowledgment that SJSU will define “male” and “female” biologically and recognize that gender cannot be altered.
- Commitment to adhere to Title IX and separate athletic and intimate facilities based on biological sex.
- Assurance that SJSU will not delegate its Title IX compliance obligations.
- Restoration of individual athletic records and titles taken from female athletes due to male athletes competing in women’s categories, along with an apology.
- A personal apology to all female athletes affected, particularly those involved in women’s indoor volleyball from 2022 to 2024.
For Batty Smooth, these stipulations represent merely the “bare minimum.” “This is just the starting point,” she asserted, emphasizing that the university must face substantial consequences for their actions.
Broyles believes SJSU should feel pressure to cooperate with the federal government to avoid losing funding—a move that could have dire consequences for the university. “If negotiations stall, there’s a chance they could be stripped of significant federal support,” she said, hinting at the complicated interplay of ideology, politics, and institutional survival.
Batty Smooth moved her family from Connecticut to California in 2023 to join SJSU, expecting to coach female athletes exclusively. She claims she learned about Fleming’s situation only after raising inquiries, and it wasn’t until weeks later that the head coach, Todd Kress, disclosed all the details, even instructing her not to share the information.
When she was suspended after filing her complaint, she found out minutes before a home game against New Mexico State and alleges she was denied access to her personal belongings on campus. There was no specific explanation provided regarding her suspension—it was merely tied to an alleged violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Now, over a year since these events, Batty Smooth has relocated her family to Texas in search of a safer environment and a fresh start. Still, she acknowledges that the journey has been challenging.
“It’s been a rough transition,” she admitted. “I was looking for coaching opportunities, and the whole situation has undeniably impacted my career. It’s been tough on all of us.”
