The San Jose State University volleyball coach who was suspended for criticizing the school’s transgender athlete policy is praising President Donald Trump’s changes to Title IX rules and is calling it a “great first step in the right direction.”
Associate volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended in November after she raised concerns that transgender player Blaire Fleming had conspired to cause physical harm to teammates that opposed Fleming’s participation on the team.
Batie-Smoose joined Fox News and said Trump is on the right path over transgender athletes.
“Now we need to continue it, and… the laws [have to] change and the NCAA has to make those changes necessary so that we save women’s sports and that we continue to have women’s sports,” Batie-Smoose told Fox & Friends Weekend’s Charlie Hurt.
After Batie-Smoose was suspended, the school has since said it was not going to re-hire her after her contract expired.
“It’s just been a long two years and standing up for what’s right, and making sure we’re continuing to support women and women’s sports is what I stood up for and now currently, after 30 years in my career, [I] have been let go,” the former volleyball coach exclaimed.
Batie-Smoose went on to say that SJSU was not working in the interests of the women on the volleyball team and was only working to protect the transgender player.
“It was a very tough situation for all of them,” she added. “Very traumatic what they had to go through, and it’s unfortunate they have four years to play collegiate volleyball, and their last two years were affected so much and not being able to play some of their matches.”
Some of the players stood up for Batie-Smoose when she spoke out on their behalf.
“My assistant coach spoke truth to protect my team. Then… they (suspend) her. They took away the only safe space we had in the program. Because she knew that it was right to stand up for the 18 women on the team. Not one man,” SJSU student Brooke Slusser wrote on her X account.
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