A public and bitter disagreement has erupted between former San Jose State University women's volleyball teammates, drawing national attention to the ongoing legal and personal battles surrounding the program. Blaire Fleming has issued a blunt and unapologetic response to serious accusations made by Brooke Slusser, who claims the team environment severely harmed her mental and physical health.
The Core of the Controversy: Conflicting Accounts of Health Struggles
The dispute centres on events during the 2023 college volleyball season in San Jose, California. Brooke Slusser, who has since left the university, alleges that the intense stress she experienced after learning about teammate Blaire Fleming's transgender status triggered a severe eating disorder. However, in interviews published in December 2024, Fleming firmly rejected any responsibility for Slusser's condition.
"I really don't care or feel bad for her," Fleming stated unequivocally during a conversation with Fox News. She countered that Slusser's issues with food and weight management were evident during their time as teammates, long before the team situation became a source of public controversy. Fleming claimed Slusser exhibited strict eating habits and was preoccupied with tracking her weight in 2023.
Slusser's Lawsuit and Detailed Allegations
Brooke Slusser has strongly pushed back against Fleming's characterisation of her health timeline. She maintains that her eating disorder, diagnosed as anorexia, began directly due to the stress and anxiety she felt within the volleyball program. "From the stress and how anxious I was every single day, I just wasn't eating really at all," Slusser explained. She added that the condition was so severe it caused her menstrual cycle to stop.
Slusser's legal actions have formalised the conflict. In 2024, she filed lawsuits against both the NCAA and the Mountain West Conference. A key point in her complaint is that she was unaware of Fleming's transgender identity while they shared locker rooms and hotel rooms during team travel in the 2023 season. Slusser says she only discovered this information in April 2024 from another teammate.
National Repercussions and Institutional Stand
The fallout from this case has extended far beyond the two athletes. The 2024 volleyball season for San Jose State was marred by protests and forfeits from opposing teams, highlighting the divisive national debate. Meanwhile, Blaire Fleming has stated she began her transition at age 14 and competed in full compliance with existing NCAA rules. San Jose State University has publicly stated that Fleming violated no university or athletic conference policies.
For Slusser, the personal cost has been high. She has said that the act of speaking out and the ensuing media scrutiny forced her to complete her final semester of studies from home, away from the campus environment. The clash between these two athletes underscores the deeply personal and legal complexities emerging from policies on transgender participation in sports, a debate that continues to resonate across the United States.
