Having a trans-identifying male player on the San José State University women’s volleyball team was a very difficult experience, says the coach who was allegedly punished for speaking out about it.
Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended indefinitely as the Spartans’ associate head coach last month, just days after filing a Title IX complaint accusing San José State of showing favoritism to trans-identifying player Blaire Fleming over his female teammates on the volleyball team.
Batie-Smoose, a 33-year veteran of coaching collegiate sports, said that when she was hired at San Jose State, she was not aware there was a trans-identifying male on the team.
“I moved my whole family across the country” from Connecticut, she told Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on the Tuesday episode of her podcast, “Unmuted with Marsha.”
“And then once we were informed we were silenced and threatened to not say anything,” she said.
Batie-Smoose is currently suing over the male player along with team co-captain Brooke Slusser and a number of other female players. The plaintiffs, which include athletes from several schools, say their Title IX rights are being violated.
“That’s the fight we’re fighting, and it has to get changed at the highest levels in the Supreme Court, and also so that the NCAA is forced to make those laws and those changes,” she said.
“What is the morale of the players on the San Jose volleyball team?” Blackburn asked.
“It’s been very difficult. It’s very stressful,” Batie-Smoose responded.
“A lot of people, and myself included, to even come to work and come to practice, you had to make yourself like, numb because of all the things that were going on,” she said. “If you were gonna, just like, make it through that day in an area that you weren’t being supported, you weren’t being protected.”
“The support was only for one, the biological male, and was not supporting the women, and we were being silenced,” Batie-Smoose said.
Safety is a major concern for critics of biological males in women’s sports.
“In men’s volleyball, the net is higher, and men jump higher, they’re more physical, they’re faster, they’re stronger, and that’s just facts,” Batie-Smoose said.
“That was the concern for the team and the teams that forfeited against us,” she said, adding that it was also a concern for the teams that did end up playing San Jose State.
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“There was a lot of teams that behind the scenes were saying they didn’t want to play us, but then they played us,” she said.
Several teams forfeited a total of six games to San Jose State.
Batie-Smoose said that given the consequences she has faced personally, she understands why most coaches do not speak out.
“I think it’s very hard seeing what I’ve gone through for coaches to give up their careers and speak out, even though they 100% agree with what I’m doing,” the women’s coach said.
“But I’ve had an outcry of like support behind the scenes and all over the world [from] coaches, non-coaches,” Batie-Smoose said.
“This is an issue that we have heard so much about in Tennessee,” Blackburn said, “from people that are concerned because they want young women to have the ability to learn how to be a part of the team and play and excel and get scholarships and increase their education, and they’re very concerned that there will be a loss of that opportunity for girls and women in sports.”
Female athletes in high school, college, and professional divisions have spoken out more and more against women playing with and competing against men, citing safety concerns as well as fairness in competition.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of Americans now say trans-identifying male athletes should “never” or only “in rare cases” be allowed to compete on girls’ sports teams, according to a Los Angeles Times survey from earlier this year.
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[[{“value”:”
Having a trans-identifying male player on the San José State University women’s volleyball team was a very difficult experience, says the coach who was allegedly punished for speaking out about it.
Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended indefinitely as the Spartans’ associate head coach last month, just days after filing a Title IX complaint accusing San José State of showing favoritism to trans-identifying player Blaire Fleming over his female teammates on the volleyball team.
Batie-Smoose, a 33-year veteran of coaching collegiate sports, said that when she was hired at San Jose State, she was not aware there was a trans-identifying male on the team.
“I moved my whole family across the country” from Connecticut, she told Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on the Tuesday episode of her podcast, “Unmuted with Marsha.”
“And then once we were informed we were silenced and threatened to not say anything,” she said.
Batie-Smoose is currently suing over the male player along with team co-captain Brooke Slusser and a number of other female players. The plaintiffs, which include athletes from several schools, say their Title IX rights are being violated.
“That’s the fight we’re fighting, and it has to get changed at the highest levels in the Supreme Court, and also so that the NCAA is forced to make those laws and those changes,” she said.
“What is the morale of the players on the San Jose volleyball team?” Blackburn asked.
“It’s been very difficult. It’s very stressful,” Batie-Smoose responded.
“A lot of people, and myself included, to even come to work and come to practice, you had to make yourself like, numb because of all the things that were going on,” she said. “If you were gonna, just like, make it through that day in an area that you weren’t being supported, you weren’t being protected.”
“The support was only for one, the biological male, and was not supporting the women, and we were being silenced,” Batie-Smoose said.
Safety is a major concern for critics of biological males in women’s sports.
“In men’s volleyball, the net is higher, and men jump higher, they’re more physical, they’re faster, they’re stronger, and that’s just facts,” Batie-Smoose said.
“That was the concern for the team and the teams that forfeited against us,” she said, adding that it was also a concern for the teams that did end up playing San Jose State.
CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
“There was a lot of teams that behind the scenes were saying they didn’t want to play us, but then they played us,” she said.
Several teams forfeited a total of six games to San Jose State.
Batie-Smoose said that given the consequences she has faced personally, she understands why most coaches do not speak out.
“I think it’s very hard seeing what I’ve gone through for coaches to give up their careers and speak out, even though they 100% agree with what I’m doing,” the women’s coach said.
“But I’ve had an outcry of like support behind the scenes and all over the world [from] coaches, non-coaches,” Batie-Smoose said.
“This is an issue that we have heard so much about in Tennessee,” Blackburn said, “from people that are concerned because they want young women to have the ability to learn how to be a part of the team and play and excel and get scholarships and increase their education, and they’re very concerned that there will be a loss of that opportunity for girls and women in sports.”
Female athletes in high school, college, and professional divisions have spoken out more and more against women playing with and competing against men, citing safety concerns as well as fairness in competition.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of Americans now say trans-identifying male athletes should “never” or only “in rare cases” be allowed to compete on girls’ sports teams, according to a Los Angeles Times survey from earlier this year.
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