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EXCLUSIVE: A prominent attorney who represents female athletes, including Simone Biles, in abuse cases is the latest critic to take aim at San Jose State University (SJSU) and the California State University (CSU) system for its ongoing volleyball scandal.
The attorney, John Manly, is coming forward after Pakinomist Digital reported that SJSU was informed of allegations of graphic abuse against current volleyball coach Todd Kress during the 2024 season, while the university was already under a Title IX microscope for a national controversy involving a trans athlete on the volleyball team.
“This is not about trans rights… and frankly, the trans piece of this is a smokescreen for the university to justify its abhorrent treatment and protection of female students for the last 20 years,” Manly told Pakinomist Digital.
“What’s happened here, and I can tell you I think it’s happened at San Jose State, is that the entire Title IX process has been bastardized. Instead of a process where it was supposed to be about protecting students and athletes, it’s really been about avoiding responsibility for the university…
“The school needs a wake-up call, and frankly, new leadership.”
INSIDE THE SJSU VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: ‘THIS IS AN OBVIOUS PROBLEM’
Manly served as the chief legal counsel from 2017-21 for Biles and the other women who were sexually abused by Larry Nassar, helping the victims reach a $380 million settlement. He also represented former SJSU female athletes in a separate case of sexual abuse by a coach as far back as 2009 to 2020.
The attorney says he sees similarities in the culture behind SJSU’s handling of its volleyball situation and the cultures behind the problems in two other cases.
“In terms of the culture, yes,” Manly said of the similarities to other cases he’s handled. “I mean, there was a culture at Michigan State, where the Larry Nassar case was, and I was the lead counsel for it, where this was just acceptable and ignored because it benefited the university… The same with the San Jose State lecturer who was convicted on federal civil rights charges.
“When you have a culture that doesn’t value students and frankly treats them as funding vehicles, when it doesn’t value athletes and frankly treats them as funding devices and to benefit the university’s, quote, ‘brand,’ that’s what happens.”
SJSU previously settled with the US Department of Justice in September 2021 for $1.6 million to be distributed to 13 female student-athletes.
The investigation found that the school’s former head coach, Scott Shaw, subjected athletes to unwelcome sexual contact under the guise of medical treatment and that the university ignored complaints for more than a decade. Manly also served as legal counsel for these SJSU victims.
Then, in late January of this year, the U.S. Department of Education ruled that the school again violated Title IX in its handling of the volleyball team. But in March, SJSU and CSU sued the federal government to challenge the study and its findings.
SJSU and CSU, meanwhile, are being sued by 11 female players across the Mountain West, including former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser, over their experience with the trans athlete. Slusser has since said that she and her other former teammates at SJSU were never allegedly informed of the allegations against Kress after they were sent to the school in October 2024.
Manly hopes the new development and SJSU’s history will have an impact in the courtroom on all legal fronts related to the scandal.
“I would hope that the courts would look at this as a culture and say, ‘There’s something wrong here.'” I mean you look at the coach, you look at the coach, you look at the other issues at the school with culture and they have to protect the kids. And I hope the end result of that case is that it happens, because it’s certainly not happening now,” Manly said.
Pakinomist Digital has filed two public records requests with SJSU seeking documents related to the allegations against Kress, but both have been denied.
“The fact that they won’t produce the documents tells you a lot,” Manly said.
The first request sought emails between the school and one of Kress’ former players at Fairfield University that included a letter involving allegations that Kress assaulted her in a hotel room in 1998. SJSU denied that request, citing privacy exceptions.
The second request sought internal communications related to the school’s own investigation into these allegations. SJSU denied this request, also citing privacy exceptions, as well as attorney-client privilege.
Both SJSU responses also stated, “Disclosure of these records would therefore constitute an invasion of privacy that outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”
As a lawyer, Manly disagrees with that answer when you consider the stakes.
“That’s completely false. There’s a whole litany of cases in California that say the safety of, for others and the safety of, uh, and you know, people who essentially know somebody is dangerous outweighs that. If there’s a privacy interest, just remove the name of the victim,” Manly said.
Pakinomist Digital obtained copies of emails exchanged between SJSU and the former Fairfield player from an independently verified source. Pakinomist Digital has independently confirmed that she played at Fairfield under Kress during the 1998 season, but is not releasing her name.
SJSU DID NOT PUNISH VOLLEYBALL COACH IN TRANS SCANDAL AMID TITLE IX COMPLAINTS, FEDERATION FINDINGS
Head coach Todd Kress of the San Jose State Spartans looks on during the second set against the Air Force Falcons on Falcon Court in the East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Photo by (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
The original letter was written by a woman who played for Kress at Fairfield University in the late 90s and sent to SJSU on October 24, 2024.
The first email she sent to SJSU contained the letter of the written allegations against Kress, which was originally sent to Fairfield University. The alleged incident took place at a hotel following Fairfield’s loss to Clemson in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament in December of that year. She wrote that a teammate asked her to bring her a shirt to Kress’ room.
“I told her I wanted no part of his insanity. I was distraught over the loss and not interested in his drunken insanity, which was common on trips.”
The former player added that her teammate “promised Todd wouldn’t throw water at me or do anything juvenile, so I reluctantly agreed to bring her the jersey.”
“I knocked on the door and Todd answered. He immediately took caramel from a plastic container and smeared it all over my face and hair. Then he forcefully threw me on the bed and held me down. I was in shock. He let go of me and then pulled down his pants and put his backside in my face.
“Stunned… that’s the only word I can think of to describe how I felt at that moment… Todd was drunk. I got up and went to the door.
“Todd again grabbed me, picked me up and threw me into the bathtub where he held me down and threatened to turn on the shower as I lay there to ‘clean the caramel off my face.’ At this point I fought back to get away from him.
“Todd let me get out of the tub and laughed, and then he stood in front of the door and blocked my exit. Todd told me he would only let me go if I took a shot of liquor, which I only did to get him to move away from the door. When he did, I ran after it. He chased me. I got into my room, and though he seemed to have gone into a letter, he turned out and he turned out.
SJSU Athletic Director Jeff Konya responded to the former Fairfield player in an email the same day the letter was sent.
“I would like to acknowledge receipt of your correspondence and will share it with the appropriate authorities on the SJSU campus for further review,” Konya wrote.
More than a week later, on Nov. 4, former SJSU Interim Title IX and Equality Officer Peter Lim reached out to set up a meeting with the former player and her attorney.
“Thank you for sharing your concerns about Coach Todd Kress. I am sorry to hear about your experiences. I have reviewed your letter and would like to meet with you to better understand your experiences with Coach Kress. The purpose of the meeting would be to help me assess potential next steps, which may or may not include an investigation into the reported behavior,” Lim wrote.
Three days after that, on November 7, Lim sent another email to the former Fairfield player, thanking her and her lawyer for meeting with them.
“I am so sorry for your past experiences with Todd Kress at Fairfield University. I appreciate the time you took to describe those experiences, the impact these experiences continue to have on you, and the safety threat you believe he presents to SJSU’s volleyball team,” Lim wrote.
“We’ll evaluate the information you’ve provided and decide on appropriate next steps. If that’s okay with you two, I’d appreciate staying in touch.”
There was no further correspondence between the two parties after that exchange, Pakinomist Digital has learned.
Manly said the lack of visible follow-up reflects what he believes is a broader failure in how universities handle allegations that could expose them to liability.
“These complaints end up in the attorney general’s office and die. And the reason for that is very simple. Attorneys rarely find their own clients guilty,” Manly said.
“The message it sends is, ‘We want to keep the coach because he wins, and we don’t want to look bad.’
Manly hopes to see the legislature, either state or federal, issue subpoenas for what happened.
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“The Legislature could subpoena these people, and they should,” he said.
“I hope that the trustees of the Cal State University system, who are appointed by the governor, the Senate and the Assembly, will really focus on this and hold a hearing on it and say, ‘How did we end up hiring this guy?'”
