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EXCLUSIVE: The woman who accused current San Jose State University (SJSU) volleyball coach Todd Kress of attacking her in a hotel room has made her first statements since the allegations became public. Kress is widely known for overseeing the controversial 2024 season that was overshadowed by a trans athlete scandal involving Blaire Fleming and teammate Brooke Slusser.
The woman, who previously played for Kress at Fairfield University, informed SJSU officials in October 2024 about her alleged experience with the coach.
“SJSU knew I feared for the safety of the women in the program since October 2024 and yet they allowed Todd to continue coaching and traveling with the team,” she told PK Press Club Digital on condition of anonymity.
“I informed Fairfield and SJSU of my encounter with Todd in 1998 after reading accounts from young women on the SJSU 2024 team describing his bullying, coercive and manipulative behaviors.
“Why don’t some women come forward after being assaulted by those in positions of power? It’s a legitimate question. Just look at the situation at SJSU.”
IN FALLOUT OF SJSU Volleyball Scandal: ‘THIS IS AN OBVIOUS PROBLEM’
Kress’ alleged victim speaks out two weeks after allegations were first reported.
Neither SJSU nor Kress have responded to the allegations since then, despite multiple inquiries, and the coach has also made several social media posts touting his new recruiting class during that time.
PK Press Club Digital reported on July 7 that at the height of the fall 2024 SJSU volleyball trans athlete scandal, administrators received an email from the woman in October of that year. The email included a letter addressed to Fairfield containing allegations that Kress attacked the player in a hotel room in 1998.
Emails obtained by PK Press Club Digital through a verified independent 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.
PK Press Club Digital submitted a public records request to SJSU seeking emails related to an investigation into these allegations, but the request was denied, with SJSU citing confidentiality exemptions and attorney-client privilege.
“Did SJSU investigate my complaint? They were provided with information that would have allowed them to corroborate my claims. Their refusal to disclose their investigative steps and final decision allows for much speculation,” the former player added.
“My only motivation was the hope that by bringing to the attention of school administrators what Todd did to me, they could take action to protect young women. I trusted the system and chose to operate without public attention.”
PK Press Club Digital verified her identity and confirmed that she played for Kress in Fairfield in 1998.
Slusser, who played under Kress for two seasons in 2023-24, previously told PK Press Club Digital that she and her other 2024 teammates were not informed of the allegations this fall.
“The school gave us absolutely no information. It was never brought up once.” » said Slusser. Slusser is currently suing SJSU for his 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 his letter.
Part of the letter alleges: “He immediately took caramel from a plastic container and smeared it on my face and hair. He then forcibly threw me on the bed and held me on the floor. I was in shock. He let go of me, then pulled down his pants and put his back in my face.
SJSU DID NOT PENALIZE VOLLEYBALL COACH DURING TRANS SCANDAL AMID TITLE IX COMPLAINTS, FEDERAL FINDINGS ALLE
“Todd grabbed me again, picked me up and threw me in the bathtub where he held me down and threatened to turn on the shower with me lying there to ‘wash the caramel off my face’. At this point I was fighting to get away from him.
“Todd let me out of the bathtub, laughing, then stood in front of the door, blocking my exit. Todd told me he would only let me leave if I took a drink of alcohol, which I only did to get him away from the door. Once he did, I ran towards her. He chased me. I went into my room and even though he seemed angry, he turned and walked out calmly,” the letter states.
PK Press Club Digital sent multiple requests to Kress, SJSU and the California State University (CSU) system for a response to the allegations and the player’s latest statements, but neither party addressed the issue.
The allegations have been public for 14 days.
A U.S. Department of Education (ED) Title IX investigation into SJSU over the transgender scandal determined that the university allegedly made the decision not to suspend or relieve its head volleyball coach during the team’s 2024 transgender scandal, despite Title IX complaints against the coach. The findings of the investigation make no mention of the former Fairfield player and her letter.
The results do not mention the coach’s name, but PK Press Club Digital reasonably believes that the character labeled “Coach 2” in the results is Kress.
“Additional notes indicate that the decision not to suspend Coach 2 also included the inappropriate consideration: ‘If we relieve him… [w]It might also attract more media attention…. “University records indicate that university officials, including the university president, 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 her contract subsequently not renewed, after filing a Title IX complaint regarding the alleged management of Fleming and the team’s women in 2024. Batie-Smoose is pursuing a wrongful termination lawsuit against SJSU.
SJSU withheld relevant records and did not respond to questions
PK Press Club 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 conducted a reasonable search for these records pursuant to California Government Code §7922.535 and determined that the requested records were not subject to release under the Public Records Act,” the SJSU Public Records Office responded.
“First, the request seeks documents exempt from attorney-client privilege. Additionally, the requested communications involve substantial privacy interests. Disclosure of these documents would therefore constitute an invasion of privacy that outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”
Prior to that, PK Press Club Digital submitted a formal public records request to San Jose State University for copies of the Oct. 24, 2024, letter of complaint sent to the school by Kress’s former player, a Nov. 1 follow-up email, and a Nov. 7 response to the woman in the university’s Title IX office.
But this record has also been debunked.
“The requested communications involve important privacy interests,” the university’s response states.
“The disclosure of these documents would therefore constitute an invasion of privacy which outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Specifically, these records are withheld subject to the following exemptions: Personal Records/Privacy… General Privacy Rights… [and the] Balancing test. Here, the public interest served by disclosure is minimal and is outweighed by the public interest served against disclosure by protecting substantial and meaningful privacy rights.
PK Press Club Digital received copies of emails exchanged between SJSU and the former Fairfield player from an independently verified source. The letter containing the allegations was forwarded to SJSU administration on October 24, 2024, and a response acknowledging receipt of the letter was sent later the same day.
Then, on November 4, 2024, Peter Lim, SJSU’s former interim Title IX and gender equality officer, contacted to arrange a meeting with the former player and her attorney.
“Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding 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 evaluate potential next steps, which may or may not include an investigation into the reported conduct,” Lim wrote.
Three days later, on November 7, Lim sent another email to the former Fairfield player, thanking her and her lawyer for meeting with them.
“I am truly sorry for your prior experiences with Todd Kress at Fairfield University. I appreciate the time you took to describe those experiences, the impact those experiences continue to have on you, and the safety threat you believe he poses to the SJSU volleyball team,” Lim wrote.
“We are evaluating the information you have provided and determining appropriate next steps. If you both agree, I would appreciate staying in touch.”
There was no further correspondence between the two parties after this exchange, PK Press Club Digital has learned.
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PK Press Club Digital posed several questions to Kress, Lim, SJSU administrators and public records office clerks, as well as CSU spokespeople regarding their responses to the allegations, the woman’s recent statements, Slusser’s statements, what investigation, if any, has taken place into the allegations, and why they believe release of the requested records is not sufficient in the public interest to warrant disclosure. But neither party responded to these questions.
PK Press Club Digital reached out to Fairfield for a response to the allegations and the former player’s recent statement, but was told by a spokesperson: “The university does not comment on matters relating to former or current personnel.”
