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The parents of former San Jose State University volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser have made their first public statement since the U.S. Department of Education (ED) determined the school violated Title IX while Slusser was enrolled. Slusser became the central opposition figure at the university during a 2024 scandal involving trans athlete Blaire Fleming.
Slusser filed a lawsuit against representatives of SJSU and the Mountain West Conference after she was allegedly forced to share a room and change spaces with Fleming without being informed of Fleming’s biological sex. Among the ED’s findings, it also concluded that the trans athlete conspired with an opposing player to have an SJSU teammate, presumably Slusser, stabbed in the face during a game.
Slusser’s parents, Paul and Kim Slusser, provided a joint statement to PK Press Club Digital regarding the ED’s recent crackdown at the university.
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Former SJSU volleyball star Brooke Slusser and her parents Paul and Kim Slusser at a game Sept. 8, which Kim said is “the last good memory we have of her playing.” (Courtesy of Kim Slusser)
“We are pleased 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 failed to do! San Jose State University has completely failed its female athletes, and it is time they are held accountable,” the statement read.
“We are closely monitoring their response, and our next step is to fight for justice in the courts. San Jose State and the Mountain West Conference have betrayed the volleyball team, and they will be held accountable.”
The parents had to watch their daughter suffer from an eating disorder and failure at school following the trauma caused by the scandal.
“I went from about 160 to 128 [pounds] during this semester. It’s definitely not healthy for someone my size to be that weight, and I ended up losing my menstrual cycle for nine months. So it was really bad,” 5-11 Slusser told PK Press Club Digital.
After the 2024 season and fall semester ended, Slusser’s parents saw the physical impact the situation was having on her and demanded that she return home to Texas.
“As soon as the season was over, she came home for Christmas and we were like, ‘You’re not going back,'” Paul Slusser told PK Press Club Digital, adding that he told his daughter, “‘You can go get your stuff next summer, when your lease is up, and stay here.'”
‘HORRIBLE’ MOMENTS EXPOSED FOR UNR VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS WHEN THEY WERE EMBRACED IN SJSU TITLE IX SCANDAL
Once winter break ended and what was supposed to be her final semester began, Brooke attempted to take her classes online.
Her parents said she started online classes, but dropped them soon after. Inasmuch as Division I scholarship athletedropping the course meant he lost the scholarship and his family had to pay the full semester’s tuition and accommodation out of pocket.
“We had to basically pay his mortgage and his apartment for the rest of the semester, so it was a pretty significant financial burden on us when this happened,” Paul Slusser said.
The ED issued an ultimatum to SJSU to comply with a series of agreements or face “imminent enforcement action”. The deadline is February 11, 2026.
Necessary terms include:
- Issue a public statement to the SJSU community that SJSU will adopt biologically based definitions of the words “man” and “woman” and recognize that the sex of a human being – male or female – is immutable;
- Clarify that SJSU will follow Title IX by segregating sports and intimate facilities based on biological sex;
- State that SJSU will not delegate its obligation to comply with Title IX to any external association or entity and will not contract with an entity that discriminates on the basis of sex;
- Return to individual female athletes all individual sporting records and titles misappropriated by male athletes competing in female categories, and send a personalized letter of apology on behalf of SJSU to each female athlete for allowing her participation in athletics to be tainted by gender discrimination; And
- Send a personalized apology to every woman who played SJSU women’s indoor volleyball (2022-2024), 2023 beach volleyball, and any woman on a team who withdrew rather than compete against SJSU while a male student was on the roster – expressing sincere regret for placing 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, has 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 teams. The department has informed the University of the result of its investigation and its conclusions. The University is reviewing the department’s findings and proposed resolution agreement,” an SJSU statement said.
“We remain committed to providing a safe, respectful and inclusive educational environment for all students while complying with applicable laws and regulations.”
