SAN JOSE, California: Brooke Slusser SJSU claims intensified after the former volleyball player said San Jose State University never told players about decades-old allegations against head coach Todd Kress.
Slusser told Fox News Digital that she was warned during her final 2024 season not to be alone in a room with Kress after rumours of past allegations reached her family.
Fox News Digital reported that SJSU received an October 2024 letter from a former Fairfield University player alleging Kress attacked her in a team hotel room in 1998.
Slusser said the school gave players “absolutely zero information” about the letter. She said former teammates contacted her after the report was published and said they had not been told either.
Brooke Slusser has spoken out after assault allegations surfaced against her former SJSU volleyball coach. She says her family heard rumors of the decades-old allegations, during her final season under the coach in 2024, and was told to never be in a room alone with him after… https://t.co/BaoIEEbRki pic.twitter.com/hu6I1R4JRm
— Jackson Thompson (@JackThompsonFOX) July 12, 2026The letter’s author played for Kress at Fairfield during the 1998 season, according to Fox News Digital, which said it reviewed emails between SJSU officials and the former player.
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The former SJSU interim Title IX and Gender Equity Officer, Peter Lim, acknowledged the allegations in November 2024 and told the former player that the university was evaluating next steps.
Kress remained head coach of the SJSU women’s volleyball team, while former assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended after submitting a Title IX complaint and later filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit.
Slusser is also suing SJSU and the California State University system over her experience with former teammate Blaire Fleming during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
AP reported in 2024 that a federal judge denied a request to bar a San Jose State transgender player from competing in the Mountain West tournament.
