SJSU’s latest trans athlete controversy draws statement from California congressman

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., reacted on Monday following a Fox News Digital report that the Mountain West Conference hired the same law firm to investigate the transgender athlete Brooke Fleming’s misconduct allegations that the conference was using to defend the athlete’s eligibility for the conference tournament in court.

Kiley had been outspoken against transgender athletes competing against girls and women in sports and was at odds with California Gov. Gavin Newsom as the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the state over alleged Title IX violations.

“The absurdity and unfairness of forcing young women and girls to compete against males also poses obvious safety risks,” Kiley said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The revelations from Fox News Digital are highly disturbing, but sadly unsurprising: the same institutions that willingly subject student-athletes to the risk of physical harm are failing to adequately respond when those harms materialize. 

“Fortunately, the tide has decisively turned against the backwards politicians and organizations who have defied common sense and biological reality in their attempt to undermine hard-won civil rights protections for female athletes.”

Former San Jose State women’s volleyball player Brooke Slusser was the apparent target of an alleged plan by Fleming and a Colorado State player to have Slusser spiked in the face during an Oct. 3 game. Slusser was never spiked in the face during that game. Fleming had 10 errors as SJSU lost to Colorado State in straight sets. 

Fox News Digital previously reported that Mountain West hired the firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher (WFG) to investigate the allegations.

The Mountain West hired the firm to handle the investigation in the same month that the same firm represented the conference to protect Fleming’s eligibility in a request for preliminary injunction to have the trans athlete disqualified from women’s competition and the conference tournament.

The investigation was closed after three days, with Fleming being cleared of impropriety. But no evidence was ever disclosed by the conference, as Fleming went on to finish out the season, earn all-conference honors and even led SJSU all the way to the Mountain West championship game.

LAW FIRM THAT WORKED TO KEEP SJSU TRANS PLAYER ELIGIBLE ALSO CLEARED ATHLETE OF CONSPIRING TO HARM TEAMMATE

The WFG attorney who led the investigation into allegations against Fleming, Tim Heaphy, later offered the school legal counsel to help it navigate a federal Title IX investigation over the same situation, as seen in public records obtained by Fox News Digital. The offer was declined.

None of WFG’s attorneys have been accused of violating any applicable rules of professional conduct.

Fox News Digital reached out to the firm Wilkie Farr & Gallagher, the Mountain West Conference and the California State University system for a response on Kiley’s statement.

Slusser spoke late last month about the recent findings in an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “America Reports.”

“It’s obvious once this was put out into the public that there’s so much bias in this situation, and they’re trying to just sweep these things under the rug and not have to deal with it when there’s obvious problems going on all over the place,” she said.

“They need to be held accountable for using the same law firm and not doing a thorough investigation because Title IX was built to protect women, and they’re obviously deciding to protect the man in this situation when they were blatantly trying to harm a female athlete at their school, and they’re still backing this male athlete and that’s just wrong all over the place. And there’s schools all over the nation doing this, they’re just not getting the spotlight it deserves.”

Slusser ultimately hopes that no other female athletes have to deal with the same things she experienced.

“The goal is to never have to let another female athlete go through what I did. The sport was ruined for me my senior season,” she said. “So, the goal is to give back to those young girls who had the same dream that I did but to be able to love it the entire time.”

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