Riley Gaines slams 'corrupt' investigation into claims trans volleyball player was part of plan to harm teammate

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Riley Gaines has fumed over what she believes was a 'corrupt' investigation into claims that transgender volleyball player Blaire Fleming conspired with an opponent to harm one of her San Jose State University teammates.
Fleming, who is a biological male, was at the center of fierce controversy last year after multiple schools refused to play volleyball against SJSU's women's team due to their inclusion on the roster.
A host of players from colleges in the same conference as the Spartans filed a lawsuit seeking to block the redshirt senior from the 2024 Mountain West tournament, before some of their teammates even hopped on board, albeit unsuccessfully.
Following several forfeits from rival teams, Blaire and SJSU made it all the way to the final in their senior year, where they were beaten by Colorado State.
Amid the outrage over their inclusion, Fleming was hit with shocking allegations from fellow SJSU star Brooke Slusser, who alleged last November that they conspired with a rival player to purposely spike the ball in her face during a game.
Slusser alleged in a lawsuit that was signed by 10 other women's college volleyball players past and present that Fleming and other teammates snuck out of their hotel the night before an October 3 game against Colorado State and met with an opposing player. The lawsuit claimed a teammate who snuck out with Fleming later told players and coaches of their alleged plan with Colorado State player Malaya Jones to have Slusser spiked in the face during a match.
The players who were with Fleming also claimed they saw their teammate hand over an SJSU scouting report with an agreement to throw the match in Colorado State's favor.
In November, the Mountain West Conference launched a probe into the allegations before concluding 'sufficient evidence' could not be found. However, Slusser now claims one of her ex-teammates made investigators aware of what they allegedly saw on the night.
'Based on what I was told, exactly what one of my teammates had seen go on that night — about talking about the scouting report and leaving the net open — was told to those lawyers. So, that should have been sufficient evidence [of the alleged plan by Fleming],' Slusser told Fox News Digital while calling for the investigation to be reopened.
'People are telling you this happened, and it's not second-hand information. She sat there and heard the conversation between Blaire and Malaya. So, to me, just from what I know without even having to dig deep into this investigation, there is sufficient evidence, and they were told sufficient evidence.'
Gaines, a former college swimmer and conservative activist who has been at the forefront of the campaign to keep biological males out of women's sports, took to social media on Thursday to brand the investigation 'corrupt'.
'A SJSU women's volleyball player says her male teammate colluded with their opponent to spike her in the face in a match. The investigation was cleared in 3 days by the SAME firm that defended the male's eligibility. Beyond corrupt,' Gaines posted on X.
Fox News Digital also interviewed SJSU athletic director Jeff Konya about Slusser's claims, only to allegedly stand up and walk away five minutes in while saying: 'I'm done.'
Konya was reportedly played a clip of the allegations against Fleming, before he said about Slusser: 'I have no idea if she's telling the truth or not.'
The trans athlete has now left college following their redshirt senior year with the Spartans
When asked if he could confirm or deny whether any of the witnesses corroborated Slusser's story, he claimed: 'I have no idea.'
Konya was then quizzed on whether he was satisfied with the way the investigation was handled, before he claimed: 'Yeah, I believe it was done professionally.'
Slusser, who suffered a concussion in 2023 and looked to avoid hits to the head out of fear of brain damage, was never hit in the face during the October 3 game against Colorado State, yet she recalled moments that made her suspicious before she even knew about Fleming's alleged plot.
'There was a lot of court open, more than usual, when it came to where I was supposed to be playing defense,' she said. 'After finding out that it was [allegedly] purposeful, that the block wasn't there, I was enraged, because it could take one more slam to my head, and I could be done with volleyball forever.'
Slusser also alleged in the lawsuit that the night before the game one of her teammates approached her with a warning after receiving a text message telling them to stay away from her as it 'wasn't going to be a good situation' for her on the court. It is unclear whether the warning was linked to Fleming's alleged plan to have the ball spiked in her face.