The women’s volleyball player who filed a lawsuit over transgender teammate Blaire Fleming has been targeted with abuse from left-wing trolls on social media.
Former San Jose State University captain Brooke Slusser – along with a host of players from different teams – took legal action against the California State University Board and the Mountain West Conference while claiming violations of the First and 14th Amendments as well as Title IX – which prohibits sex-based discrimination – in light of the 2024 controversy surrounding Fleming.
Fleming, who was born male, was at the center of fierce controversy when multiple opponents refused to play against SJSU amid concerns over their biological sex, allowing them to pick up seven wins by forfeit and advance to the playoffs with a 12-6 record.
The group, which includes University of Wyoming players Macey Boggs, Sierra Grizzle and Jordan Sandy, also sued SJSU’s head coach along with a handful of individuals.
Slusser, 23, has received vile insults from liberals online since filing the suit in relation to Fleming, who she claims to have shared an apartment with while unaware that they were a biological male.
In an interview with Fox News, she said about the abuse: ‘I would just say people that don’t know my life or my trauma don’t have room to say how good or bad my time at SJSU was. I hope they never have to understand going through something as awful as that.’
Brooke Slusser has opened up on the vile abuse she has received from left-wing trolls online
The women’s volleyball player filed a lawsuit over trans teammate Blaire Fleming (pictured)
The online hate began after Slusser alleged that she had roomed with Fleming without knowing their true sex.
‘You find out you’re just chilling in a bed with a man that you have no idea about… I [was] unknowingly sharing a bed at that time with a man,’ she added.
Slusser has also accused SJSU volleyball coach Todd Kress of encouraging her to live in the apartment with Fleming when another group of players were looking for a final tenant.
In response to her claims, one user posted on X about Slusser: ‘Literally nothing bad happened to her. The trans woman was her friend and is now being vilified for doing nothing.’
Another posted: ‘literally nothing happened to her, she had a positive experience > didn’t even know one of her three flatmates was trans > blames the counselor who suggested living there as one of the options for a good reason – The grifts are just getting worse and worse’.
Former ‘Glee’ actor Kevin McHale, meanwhile, appeared to mock Slusser’s appearance, saying: ‘No upper lip to transphobe right wing grifter pipeline’.
On the other side, several conservative commentators have leapt to her defense, including women’s sports activist Riley Gaines.
‘A man lied about his sex. A college girl was stripped of her ability to consent. When she learned his sex, she said no,’ Gaines wrote on X.
Slusser said she shared a bed with Fleming while unaware her teammate was a biological male
Fleming was at the center of fierce controversy at San Jose State during the 2024 season
She then added about one of the users who suggested ‘nothing bad happened’ to Slusser: ‘People like evan loves worf think the man in this story is the victim (all while claiming to be fierce defenders of women’s rights, mind you).
‘He isn’t the victim. The women whose rights were violated are.’
Ex-ESPN host Sage Steele also weighed in on the controversy by posting: ‘Love ya, @BrookeSlusser… stay strong! Let’s help her hold @SJSU @SanJoseStateVB accountable!!’
Slusser and the women’s volleyball players who took legal action over Fleming were dealt a major blow last week when a judge dismissed all but one of the claims in their lawsuit.
Judge S. Kato Crews threw out the suit against the Mountain West as ‘plaintiffs do not allege that there is currently a transgender athlete playing volleyball’ in the Conference, he wrote in a 38-page opinion.
The claims the women made against the Conference also relied on ‘Section 1983’, which curbs state actors from violating people’s rights. Yet the Mountain West is not a state entity, Crews ruled. He also concluded that it is not subject to Title IX as it doesn’t receive money directly from the federal government.
He added that the women can challenge their own schools in court under Title IX if they feel the way they applied transgender participation policy violated their rights.
