San Jose State University volleyball head coach Todd Kress released a statement on Fox News Digital on Saturday following his team's loss to Colorado State University in the Mountain West Conference tournament finals.
Kress cited the national controversy over transgender players on the team and the forfeiture of seven conference games, including the tournament semifinal against Boise State.
“I'm not going to let the reality of the past two months surface,” Kress said. “Our team prepared and was ready to play each game in accordance with established Mountain West and NCAA competition rules. I didn't take away the opportunity to play,” he wrote.
Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State and Nevada have forfeited a total of seven games against SJSU this season.
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Kress said each of these deprivations resulted in the team's players, coaches and staff receiving “appalling and hateful messages.”
“Sadly, other teams who have played with the same team for years without incident have chosen not to play with us this season. To be clear, we are celebrating every win with a forfeited game. Instead, I prepared myself for the outcome. Each forfeiture announcement triggered a chilling, hateful message that individuals chose to send directly to our student-athletes, coaching staff, and many others associated with our program. ” Kress wrote.
The coach, who was only in his second season with the team, admitted it was one of the toughest seasons of his life.
“This has been one of the most difficult seasons I've ever experienced, and I know this is true for many of our players and the staff who have supported us all along.” “It's about maintaining our focus and ensuring our overall performance. The safety and well-being of our players was my top priority despite all the outside noise,” said Kress.
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Kress was named in a lawsuit filed by team co-captain Brooke Slusser and several other Mountain West players against the conference and San Jose State University. According to the complaint, Kress contacted his personal attorney as part of an effort to remove Slusser from the team and filed a Title IX complaint based on his communications with Slusser, not on comments Slusser actually made. He claims to have spoken to someone. in the media and public about her beliefs.
Slusser also claimed that the university threatened to revoke her scholarship for speaking about the issue of sharing a team, locker room and bedroom with transgender teammate Blair Fleming.
Still, Kress joined Fleming and the other seniors on the team in thanking Slusser in a statement Saturday.
“Our team played hard today, as we have done all season. I want to recognize and thank our seniors — Alessia [Buffagni]Chandler [Manusky]Brooke [Bryant]Brooke and Blair — for their tremendous efforts on the court throughout the season. They all helped us get here,” Kress wrote.
Kress also thanked San Jose State University Police Chief Michael Carroll for protecting his team from potential threats this season.
A San Jose State spokesperson previously said the program had no scheduled opponents regarding the situation involving Fleming and Slusser ahead of this season's games, after Slusser participated in the initial lawsuit against the NCAA over Fleming in September. He admitted to Fox News Digital that he did not formally notify anyone. The presence of trans teammates.
However, the spokesperson also acknowledged that the university had coordinated police protection for players with schools hosting the team's away games after the team's high profile required increased safety measures. .
When Southern Utah first announced it was canceling its game against the Spartans in early September, it was the first sign of increased security. At that time, the university introduced armed security.
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A San Jose State University spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that the volleyball team was told it would receive some additional coverage after the initial forfeiture by the opposing program as news of Slusser's lawsuit spread. .
Shortly after the initial confiscation, campus police were alerted to the situation and intervened. After that, police protection was assigned to each game, and police from other campuses were assigned to protect the team during away games.
The Spartans' first game, Oct. 3 against eventual conference champion Colorado State, was marked by heavy police surveillance. Several police officers were photographed on court that night guarding the stands, entrances and players.
Colorado State University police monitor Moby Arena behind the San Jose State University Spartans bench during a volleyball game between the Spartans and Colorado State Rams on October 3, 2024 in Fort Collins, Colorado. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Slusser previously told Fox News Digital that his teammates warned him on Oct. 2, the night before the game, to stay away from him during the game because something bad was going to happen.
San Jose State University responded to questions about whether federal agents were involved.
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In a previous statement, San Jose State University said, “The university urges students and staff to share all communications with UPD so that they can be appropriately evaluated and addressed, including engaging with appropriate authorities as necessary.” I asked for it,” he said.
And Cress was tasked with coaching the team through it all. Kress was not the coach who recruited Fleming to SJSU. That was former head coach Trent Kersten, who left the program after Fleming's first season at San Jose State in 2022.
The lawsuit, which also included former Spartans assistant coach Melissa Batty-Smooth, says Kersten hired Fleming knowing the player was transgender but did not tell other players. claims.
Kress will take over the program in 2023 and expressed dissatisfaction with Kersten's decision in an interview. There is an out kick.
San Jose State University Spartans head coach Todd Kress speaks with reporters after the loss to the Colorado State Rams on October 3, 2024 in Fort Collins, Colorado. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
“My complaint with Trent is an unfortunate situation,” Kress said. ”[Kersten] Prime Minister Tony Blair is clearly aware of the subject of this discussion, yet he has not been contacted. [Fleming] Check in only once [Fleming’s] mental health. To be honest, I think it's sad. ”
Before that, Cress had hinted that there would be tension in the locker room because Fleming is on the team and Slusser's lawsuit “might not be a bad thing.”
“Sometimes tension isn't necessarily a bad thing, and I'm not saying it's there. But when you're tense, when you're in conflict, I mean, I'm a person who believes that out of conflict,” it's a good thing. happens all the time. We resolve our differences and we work through it,” Cress told reporters after Colorado State's first game on Oct. 3.
“The last thing I want is for there to be a white elephant in the room and no tension. We don't deal with it and we never move past it, right? So the tension is I think there might be, but it dies.''If you're in a conference room and there's tension, it dies there. If there is tension on the court, it will kill you there. I think that's the secret to our success. so far. ”
The Spartans' tournament is now over. The players made it through unscathed. But the lawsuit continues.
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