Former San Jose State volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose claims her home in California was shot at this week – three months after she was suspended in the wake of her complaint about transgender player Blaire Fleming.
Batie-Smoose, who served as an assistant for the Spartans’ women’s volleyball team before receiving her suspension, previously filed a Title IX complaint against the program over Fleming, whose inclusion on the team sparked outrage last year.
She is also a plaintiff in a lawsuit against SJSU and the Mountain West Conference along with 11 players, which includes some of Fleming’s ex-teammates.
Batie-Smoose revealed that the shooting took place while she was discussing the legal battle and the NCAA’s new policy on gender eligibility in a virtual meeting with members of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports.
When asked on Fox News if she thinks the shooting was linked to her lawsuits involving SJSU and Fleming, Batie-Smoose said: ‘I do.’
She then continued: ‘It can’t be a coincidence. I have never had this happen and in our neighborhood I talked to neighbors that have lived there over 10 years and not even a robber in the area, let alone someone shooting at someone in their house.’