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EXCLUSIVE: The woman who has accused current San Jose State University (SJSU) volleyball coach Todd Kress of assaulting her in a hotel room has come forward with her first statements since the allegations were made public. Kress is known for overseeing the controversial 2024 season that was overshadowed by a trans athlete scandal involving Blaire Fleming and female teammate Brooke Slusser.
The woman, who previously played for Kress at Fairfield University, informed SJSU officials in October 2024 of her alleged experience with the coach.
“SJSU has known that I feared for the safety of the women in the program since October 2024, and yet they have allowed Todd to continue to train and travel with the team,” she told Pakinomist Digital on condition of anonymity.
“I informed both Fairfield and SJSU of my encounter with Todd in 1998 after reading accounts of young women on the 2024 SJSU team describing his intimidation, coercive efforts and manipulative behavior.
“Why don’t some women come forward after being assaulted by those in power? It’s a fair question. Look no further than the situation at SJSU.”
INSIDE THE SJSU VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: ‘THIS IS AN OBVIOUS PROBLEM’
Kress’ alleged victim is speaking out two weeks after the allegations were first reported.
Neither SJSU nor Kress have addressed the allegations since then, despite multiple inquiries, and the coach has made numerous social media posts also bragging about his new recruiting class during that time.
Pakinomist Digital reported on July 7 that during the height of the SJSU volleyball trans athlete scandal in the fall of 2024, administrators received an email from the woman in October of that year. The email included a letter to Fairfield that contained the allegations that Kress assaulted the player in a hotel room in 1998.
Emails obtained by Pakinomist Digital through an independently verified source show that SJSU officials acknowledged receipt of the allegations, met with the former Fairfield player and her attorney, thanked her for coming forward and even apologized for her experiences.
Pakinomist Digital submitted a public records request to SJSU seeking emails related to an investigation into those allegations, but the request was denied, with SJSU citing privacy exemptions and attorney-client privilege.
“Did SJSU investigate my complaint? They obtained information that would have allowed them to corroborate my allegations. Their refusal to release their investigative steps and final determination allows for much speculation,” the former player added.
“My singular motivation was a hope that by making school administrators aware of what Todd did to me, they could act to protect young women. I trusted the system and chose to operate without public attention.”
Pakinomist Digital has confirmed her identity and that she played for Kress at Fairfield in 1998.
Slusser, who played under Kress for two seasons in 2023-24, previously told Pakinomist Digital that she and other 2024 teammates were not told about the allegations that fall.
“The school gave us absolutely no information. This was never brought up once,” Slusser said. Slusser is currently suing SJSU for her own alleged experience playing under Kress and alongside Fleming.
The alleged incident involving Kress and the former Fairfield player occurred at a hotel after Fairfield’s loss to Clemson in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament in December, according to her letter.
Part of the letter claims: “He immediately took caramel from a plastic container and smeared it all over my face and hair. He then 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.
SJSU DID NOT PUNISH VOLLEYBALL COACH IN TRANS SCANDAL AMID TITLE IX COMPLAINTS, FEDERATION FINDINGS
“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 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 first 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 away from the letter.
Pakinomist Digital has sent multiple inquiries to Kress, SJSU and the California State University (CSU) system for a response to the allegations and the player’s recent statements, but neither party has addressed the issue.
The allegations have been public for 14 days.
A United States Department of Education (ED) Title IX investigation of SJSU over the transgender scandal determined that the university allegedly made the decision not to suspend or remove its head volleyball coach during the team’s transgender scandal in 2024, despite Title IX-related complaints against the coach. The investigation’s findings did not mention the former Fairfield player and her letter.
The results do not mention the coach by name, but Pakinomist Digital reasonably believes that the figure titled “Coach 2” in the results is Kress.
“Further notes show that the decision not to suspend Coach 2 also included the inappropriate consideration: ‘If we relieve him… [w]e could also generate more media attention… ‘University records show that university officials, including the president of the university, agreed not to suspend Coach 2 because they believed his suspension would unduly disrupt the team,” the findings state.
However, the investigation did not reveal what those complaints were, and SJSU and CSU are suing the department to challenge those findings.
Meanwhile, former associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended and later did not have her contract renewed after filing a Title IX complaint over the team’s alleged treatment of Fleming and the women on the 2024 team. Batie-Smoose is pursuing a wrongful termination lawsuit against SJSU.
SJSU has withheld relevant records and has not responded to questions
Pakinomist Digital recently submitted a public records request to SJSU seeking emails related to SJSU’s investigation into the allegations against Kress, but the request was denied.
“SJSU has conducted a reasonable search for these records pursuant to California Government Code §7922.535 and has determined that the requested records are nondisclosureable under the Public Records Act,” SJSU’s public records office responded.
“First, the request seeks documents that are exempt under attorney-client privilege. Additionally, the requested communications implicate significant privacy interests. Disclosure of these records would therefore constitute an invasion of privacy that outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”
Prior to that, Pakinomist Digital submitted a formal public records request to San Jose State University, requesting copies of the Oct. 24, 2024 letter of complaint sent to the school by Kress’ former player, a Nov. 1 follow-up email and a Nov. 7 response to the woman from the university’s Title IX office.
But that record was also rejected.
“The requested communication implicates significant privacy interests,” the university’s response said.
“Disclosure of these records would therefore constitute an invasion of privacy that outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Specifically, these records are withheld subject to the following exceptions: Personnel Records/Privacy… General Privacy Rights… [and the] Balance test. Here, the public interest served by disclosure is minimal and outweighed by the public interest served against disclosure in protecting substantial and substantial privacy rights.”
Pakinomist Digital obtained copies of emails exchanged between SJSU and the former Fairfield player from an independently verified source. The letter with the allegations was forwarded to the SJSU administration on October 24, 2024, and a response acknowledging receipt of the letter was sent later that day.
On November 4, 2024, former SJSU Interim Title IX and Equality Officer Peter Lim reached out to arrange 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.
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Pakinomist Digital has asked several questions of Kress, Lim, SJSU administrators and records keepers and CSU spokespeople regarding their responses to the allegations, the woman’s recent statements, Slusser’s statements, what, if any, investigation took place into the allegations and why they believe release of the requested records is not enough to warrant public interest. But neither party has given answers to these questions.
Pakinomist Digital has reached out to Fairfield for a response to the former player’s allegations and latest statement, but was told by a spokesperson, “The university does not comment on past or present personnel matters.”
