A former volleyball coach with San Jose State has filed a lawsuit, alleging that she was poorly treated by the women’s volleyball team head coach when she opposed a transgender athlete being on the team.
Melissa Batie-Smoose served as the team’s assistant coach for two seasons before she was suspended and relieved of her coaching duties. In her lawsuit, she alleges that team head coach, Todd Kress, mocked her in front of the other players, calling her a “Trump lover.” She also claims that he mocked her religious beliefs and her opposing a transgender athlete on the team. At one point, Kress allegedly “cornered, yelled at, and berated her.”
It was due to this alleged abuse that Batie-Smoose says her relationship with the team broke down, which led to her being dismissed. She initially filed a Title IX complaint addressing her concerns about the transgender athlete being allowed on the team with other female players in October 2024 before she was placed on administrative leave.
“In January, the Trump administration concluded that San Jose State University discriminated against women by letting a transgender athlete play on the women’s volleyball team,” per the New York Post.
“Two months later, SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson announced that the school and the California State University (CSU) system are suing the federal government to challenge the US Department of Education’s discrimination determination,” it added.