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SJSU volleyball team fails to make conference tournament in first season after trans athlete scandal

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SJSU volleyball team fails to make conference tournament in first season after trans athlete scandal

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It was always going to be a tough act to follow.

San Jose State University’s volleyball team was eliminated from making the Mountain West Tournament with a loss Saturday to University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and finished the season under .500 with a 13-16 overall record and 8-10 in conference play. 

SJSU outperformed expectations, finishing seventh in the Mountain West after being expected to finish 11th in the conference’s preseason coaches poll after a controversy involving trans athlete Blaire Fleming in 2024. 

Head coach Todd Kress led last year’s team to the conference final but had eight wins, including the conference semifinal, awarded via forfeit. SJSU previously made the conference final with Fleming in 2022, the trans athlete’s first year with the Spartans under former head coach Trent Kersten. 

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The controversy involving Fleming resulted in two lawsuits during the 2024 season, a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Education and a mass exodus of players. At least seven of the team’s returning players from 2024 entered the transfer portal in December after the season ended.

The controversial 2024 season included eight forfeited matches, regular police protection, national scrutiny and internal turmoil between players and coaches.

Kress previously said the 2024 season was one of the “most difficult” of his life. Kress is 21st in NCAA women’s volleyball history in wins as a head coach.

“This has been one of the most difficult seasons I’ve ever experienced, and I know this is true as well for many of our players and the staff who have been supporting us all along. Maintaining our focus on the court and ensuring the overall safety and well-being of my players amid the external noise have been my priorities,” Kress said.

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EX-SJSU STAR BROOKE SLUSSER MAKES NEW ALLEGATIONS ABOUT PROBE INTO TRANS TEAMMATE’S ALLEGED PLOT TO HARM HER

Kersten was the coach who recruited Fleming to SJSU as a transfer out of Coastal Carolina. Kersten then stepped down after the 2022 season and was replaced by Kress. 

Former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser transferred to SJSU from Alabama in 2023 

Then, in September 2024, Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA alleging SJSU officials withheld knowledge about Fleming’s birth gender from her and other players on the team. Slusser alleged she was made to share changing and sleeping spaces with Fleming without knowing that Fleming was a biological male. 

Slusser, along with several other players in the Mountain West, filed a separate lawsuit against the conference and San Jose State in November 2024 over Fleming’s presence. That lawsuit included testimony from former San Jose State volleyball players Alyssa Sugai and Elle Patterson alleging they were passed over for scholarships in favor of Fleming. 

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Assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended by the program in early November after she filed a Title IX complaint against the university for showing favoritism toward Fleming over the other players, especially Slusser. Batie-Smoose’s complaint also included allegations of Fleming’s plot to have Slusser spiked in the face.

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Brooke Slusser (10) and Blaire Fleming (3) of the San Jose State Spartans call a play during the first set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym Oct. 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

Batie-Smoose’s contract was not renewed by the school at the end of January. The coach then filed her own lawsuit against the Board of Trustees of the California State University (CSU) system. SJSU is one of 23 California-based schools that are part of the system. 

Batie-Smoose told Fox News Digital that SJSU accommodated Fleming with special exceptions that were not granted to female athletes.

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“Not showing up to practice with no excuses, sitting in the stands eating while practice was going on, those kind of things,” Batie-Smoose said of the special exceptions reserved exclusively for Fleming. 

Fleming previously responded to Batie-Smoose’s claim and addressed Slusser in a social media exchange with Fox News Digital. 

“The only times I showed up to practice with ‘no excuse’ and sat in the stands was when I was injured and couldn’t play. Brooke Slusser and Melissa need to get a life,” Fleming said. 

After the 2024 volleyball season, Slusser fled SJSU after frequent alleged harassment and threats by other students in response to her speaking out against Fleming and the program the previous fall. She returned to her parents’ home in Texas to finish the school year remotely and is now working as a youth volleyball coach in North Carolina. 

Fleming celebrated graduation from SJSU in a social media post in May. 

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The University of Nevada, Reno, which was involved in the 2024 controversy for trying to have its players compete against SJSU and Fleming despite preferring to forfeit, finished the 2025 season in 11th place with an 8-20 record, 4-14 in conference play. 

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San Francisco, CA

Court document details attack on SF mayor’s bodyguard as Lurie responds to incident

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Court document details attack on SF mayor’s bodyguard as Lurie responds to incident


SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — For the first time since the attack on San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s bodyguard, one of the suspects was in court on Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins filed charges against the man. Those charges include:

  • Resisting an executive officer


  • Assault with force to cause bodily injury


  • Willful disobedience of a court order


  • Unlawful lodging at the same location from a previous citation

Mayor Daniel Lurie said the incident won’t deter him from walking the streets of the city doing what he was doing moments before his bodyguard was attacked last week.

PREVIOUS STORY: SF mayor was ‘worried’ about 2 men on street, checked on them before bodyguard attack

Multiple angles covered a dramatic altercation between one of San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s security detail and individuals on the street.

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“I think I need to be able to see it myself and not just stay cloistered up and not be out of the streets. I walked the streets this morning and had some great interactions and was able to help some people,” said Mayor Lurie.

We obtained the detention motion, which revealed specific details about the incident.

The document said Mayor Lurie was riding in a car northbound on Larking Street with two of his security detail. The mayor asked the driver to stop and got out of the car with one of the officers to approach four people who were blocking the road; “two were sitting on the sidewalk… one was actually sitting in the street.” The document says one of the individuals “was aggressive” and “stepped towards the mayor,” after he asked them to move out of the road a few times. This led the bodyguard to position himself between the mayor and the individual. The document states the individual “got very close” to the officer and threatened him and said, “Bruce Lee I’ll kick your a**!”

The officer, according to the document, proceeded to shove the individual away from him “with both hands to defend himself and to create distance,” causing the individual to fall backwards on the sidewalk.

The individual quickly stood up and “rushed at the officer.”

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Multiple people in the area captured the altercation on video.

We asked the mayor if he would do anything different in the future.

INTERACTIVE: Take a look at the ABC7 Neighborhood Safety Tracker

“I’m not going to stop doing it. I will consult with our detail and our chief and make sure we can do this safely,” said Mayor Lurie.

San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said he is glad the mayor sees the crisis on the streets up close.

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“A lot of people will cross the street to get away from it hide from it. We don’t want our city hiding from this problem,” said Supervisor Mandelman.

Kevin Benedicto, vice president of the San Francisco police commission, said they will be looking into the incident.

“A number of commissioners are going to want to ask the chief about updates about the incident just to make sure we have all the policies and procedures in place,” said Benedicto.

The Individual who attacked the mayor’s bodyguard has been charged in the past for criminal threats in 2019 and 2020.

One of the arraignments is set for Wednesday at 9 a.m.

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Denver, CO

Our dumpling challenge boils down to eight Denver metro restaurants

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Our dumpling challenge boils down to eight Denver metro restaurants


Like sand through the hourglass, so too go the dumplings of the Denver Post’s annual food bracket.

Our competition started with 32 restaurants chosen by editors and readers specializing in dumplings and momos, a Tibetan and Nepali variation, in the Denver area. Two weeks later, only eight restaurants remain.

The next round of matchups in our Elite 8 competition to be decided by reader votes are:

Rocky Mountain Momo (9678 E. Arapahoe Road, Englewood) vs. ChoLon (multiple locations)

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LingLon Dumpling House (2456 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver) vs. Star Kitchen (2917 W. Mississippi Ave., Denver)

Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings (multiple locations) vs. Dillon’s Dumpling House (3571 S. Tower Road, Unit G, Aurora)

Hop Alley (3500 Larimer St., Denver) vs. Momo Dumplings (caterer; momo-dumplings.com)

The most recent matchups recorded more than 460 entries. Our most popular head-to-head was Rocky Mountain Momo facing off against Yuan Wonton. Rocky Mountain Momo advances with 55% of 260 votes.

MAKfam, a Chinese restaurant with a Michelin nod for its value, faced a tough first-round opponent, The Empress Seafood, and scraped out a win. But this time, it wasn’t as lucky, losing to ChoLon, an upscale Asian fusion restaurant with multiple locations, by only five votes.

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Make your picks below for who should advance to the next round. The online voting form will close at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 15.

Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.

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Seattle, WA

Seattle goal overturned for goalie interference as Predators complete 4-2 comeback win

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Seattle goal overturned for goalie interference as Predators complete 4-2 comeback win


Ryan Ufko scored his first NHL goal with 5:35 to play in the second period to put the Nashville Predators ahead to stay in a 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.

The rookie skated in from the right of the goal, dodged between two defenders, and tucked the puck past Seattle goalie Joey Daccord to give the Predators a 3-2 lead and two critical points in their chase for a wild-card playoff spot. Right now, the team is on the outside of the playoff picture.

Tyson Jost and Reid Schaefer also scored second-period goals to erase Seattle’s 2-0 first-period lead, and Steve Stamkos added an empty-netter for his 31st goal of the season.

Jonathan Marchessault had a pair of assists for Nashville, which had lost four of its previous five, and Juuse Saros made 43 saves.

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Kaapo Kakko scored just 2:14 into the game, and Matty Beniers scored at 9:46 of the first period to give the Kraken a 2-0 lead. Beniers scored from a tough angle, firing from the bottom of the right circle and over the shoulder of Saros just inside the far post.

Daccord finished with 23 saves.

Seattle’s Shane Wright scored a goal in the second, but it was waved off because of goalie interference when Ryker Evans slid into Saros and took out his feet.

The Kraken were without left wing Jaden Schwartz, who was hit in the face by a skate during Seattle’s 7-4 loss to Ottawa on Saturday.

Kraken, clinging to a wild-card slot, have now lost five of their last seven games.

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Predators: Visit Vancouver on Thursday night.

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