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The parents of former San Jose State University volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser made their first public statement since the U.S. Department of Education (ED) determined the school violated Title IX while Slusser was enrolled. Slusser emerged as the central figure in opposition to the university during a 2024 scandal involving trans athlete Blaire Fleming.
Slusser filed a lawsuit against SJSU and Mountain West Conference officials after she was allegedly forced to share a bedroom and locker room with Fleming without being told of Fleming’s biological sex. Among the ED’s findings, it also concluded that the trans athlete conspired with an opponent to spike an SJSU teammate, presumably Slusser, in the face during a game.
Slusser’s parents, Paul and Kim Slusser, issued a joint statement to Pakinomist Digital addressing the ED’s recent crackdown on the university.
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Former SJSU volleyball star Brooke Slusser and her parents Paul and Kim Slusser at a match on Sept. 8, which Kim claims is “the last good memory we have of her playing.” (Courtesy of Kim Slusser)
“We are thrilled that the Trump Administration, Secretary McMahon and the Department of Education are taking action on the issue of men in women’s sports – something the last administration did not do! San Jose State University completely failed its female athletes and it is time they were held accountable,” the statement read.
“We are watching closely to see how they respond, and our next step is to fight for justice in court. San Jose State and the Mountain West Conference betrayed the volleyball team, and they will have to answer for it.”
The parents had to watch their daughter endure an eating disorder and academic setback as a result of the trauma caused by the scandal.
“I went from about 160 to 128 [pounds] in one semester. It’s definitely not healthy for someone my size to be that weight and I ended up missing my menstrual cycle for nine months. So it was definitely serious,” 5-11 Slusser previously told Pakinomist Digital.
After the 2024 season and fall semester ended, Slusser’s parents saw the physical impact the situation was having on her and demanded she come home to Texas.
“As soon as the season ended, she came home for Christmas and we were like, ‘You’re not going back,'” Paul Slusser previously told Pakinomist Digital, adding that he told his daughter, “You can go get your stuff next summer when your lease is up and stay here.”
‘TERRIFYING’ MOMENTS UNR VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS EXPERIENCED AS THEY WENT INTO THE SJSU TITLE IX SCANDAL
As winter break ended and what would be her final semester began, Brooke attempted to complete her coursework online.
Her parents said she began online classes but dropped them soon after. Like one Division I scholarship athletedropping classes resulted in her losing her scholarship and her family having to pay for the full semester’s tuition out of pocket and her housing.
“We had to pay, basically, her mortgage and her apartment for the rest of the semester. So it was a pretty big financial burden for us when that happened,” Paul Slusser said.
ED gave SJSU an ultimatum to comply with a series of agreements or risk “imminent enforcement action.” The deadline is February 11, 2026.
The necessary conditions include:
- Issue a public statement to the SJSU community that SJSU will adopt biology-based definitions of the words “male” and “female” and recognize that a person’s gender – male or female – is immutable;
- Specify that SJSU will comply with Title IX by segregating athletic and intimate facilities based on biological sex;
- State that SJSU will not delegate its obligation to comply with Title IX to any outside association or entity and will not contract with any entity that discriminates on the basis of sex;
- Restore to individual female athletes all individual athletic records and titles wrongfully appropriated by male athletes competing in female categories, and issue a personal letter of apology on behalf of SJSU to each female athlete for allowing her participation in athletics to be marred by gender discrimination; and
- Send a personal apology to all women who played in SJSU women’s indoor volleyball (2022-2024), beach volleyball in 2023, and to any woman on a team that lost instead of competing against SJSU while a male student was on the roster – expressing sincere regret for putting female athletes in that position.
SJSU responded to the ultimatum in a statement.
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“San Jose State, a member of the California State University system, received notice from the federal Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights regarding its investigation into athletic participation on our former women’s volleyball team. The department informed the university of the result of its investigation and its findings. The university is in the process of reviewing the department’s findings and proposed dissolution agreement,” an SJSU statement read.
“We remain committed to providing a safe, respectful and inclusive educational environment for all students, while complying with applicable laws and regulations.”
