San Jose State University has acknowledged a recent mass exodus of volleyball players who entered the transfer portal after a controversy-riddled season involving a trans athlete on the team. 

The university provided a statement to Fox News Digital in which it expressed “respect” for the recent wave of players who have opted to transfer. “Student athletes have the ability to make decisions about their college athletic careers, and we have the utmost respect for that,” the statement read.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that seven of the team’s players have entered the transfer portal. 

The seven players who are transferring will be leaving the team after a season that included eight forfeited matches, regular police protection, national scrutiny and internal turmoil between players and coaches. One player even received threats of physical harm amid the controversy.

Head coach Todd Kress even spoke about how the 2024 season was one of the “most difficult” of his life after the team’s loss in the conference final to Colorado State, in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. 

“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. 

The transgender player, Blaire Fleming, is out of eligibility after completing a fourth collegiate season in 2024. The team’s season ended in the Mountain West Conference championship game after it advanced to the title game by virtue of a forfeit from Boise State in the semifinal round. Boise State previously forfeited two regular season games to San Jose State amid the controversy involving Fleming, accounting for three of its seven conference wins via forfeit this year. 

A loss to Colorado State in the conference final ended the season and prevented the controversy from slipping into the NCAA tournament. The loss effectively ended Fleming’s collegiate career.

In September, co-captain Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA alleging the program 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 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. 

That lawsuit also alleges that San Jose State players spoke up about an alleged scheme by Fleming to have Slusser spiked in the face with a volleyball in a game against Colorado State on Oct. 3. Slusser was not spiked in the face in that game, and an investigation by the Mountain West concluded without finding sufficient evidence of the alleged plot.

SJSU TRANSGENDER VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: TIMELINE OF ALLEGATIONS, POLITICAL IMPACT AND A RAGING CULTURE MOVEMENT

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. 

Slusser previously told Fox News Digital that Batie-Smoose’s dismissal severely impacted the morale of the team.

“After we found out that she was released, a lot of the team just kind of broke down and was kind of freaking out, and even one of my teammates was like, ‘I don’t feel safe anymore,’ because there’s no one now that we feel like we can go and talk to about our concerns or our actual feelings and can actually speak freely in front of,” Slusser said.

Slusser added that she and other players lost trust in the coaches, including head coach Kress. 

“You can’t truly voice how you’re feeling without them just trying to cover it up or act like it’s all OK. With Melissa, you could voice how you felt, and she could comfort you and validate your feelings and at least make you feel heard compared to the other coaches,” Slusser said.

Kress also blamed the team that forfeited for igniting backlash against his team, as each forfeit brought about more controversy and media attention.

San Jose State Spartans players look on prior to the game against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on Oct. 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

“Sadly, others who for years have played this same team without incident chose not to play us this season. To be clear, we did not celebrate a single win by forfeiture. Instead, we braced for the fallout. Each forfeiture announcement unleashed appalling, hateful messages individuals chose to send directly to our student-athletes, our coaching staff and many associated with our program.” 

However, these issues did not stop the players from at least having some fun on what was their final road trip as San Jose State Spartans for most of them. 

Slusser previously told Fox News Digital that the team went out to a magic show together when they traveled to Las Vegas for the Mountain West tournament, and even had a team Thanksgiving meal together at the team hotel with takeout from a local diner with many of their families. 

However, that was not enough to keep the seven players who have entered the transfer portal attached to the program, as the team will be facing a major roster turnover as it looks to rebound on the court and in its reputation in 2025. 

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SAN FRANCISCO – The end of the year brings an end to the Breed administration in San Francisco.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed served the city for six years and said she’s proud of the work she’s done. 

Breed is spending the last weeks of her administration much the same way she has the last six years, serving as the city’s biggest advocate, now reflecting on her time in office.

A term that started in the turmoil following the death of her predecessor, Ed Lee.

Then-president of the board of supervisors, Breed briefly served as acting mayor and was elected to serve the remainder of Lee’s term, guiding the city through its grief. 

“Along with trying to process it myself, I had to roll up my sleeves and just reassure the public that the business of the city will continue, that you do have a leader, but that we are also mourning and help the city get through that grief,” said Breed.

Breed served San Francisco through the COVID-19 pandemic, taking decisive action early to shut down the city, a move she said saved lives. 

“San Francisco is one of the densest cities anywhere in the country,” said Breed. “We had one of the lowest death rates of any major city. We didn’t have our hospitals overflowing, our morgue overflowing.”

Because of the pandemic, Breed said she grappled with a new economic reality, trying to reshape the city in the post-pandemic era.

Breed said among her proudest accomplishments is cutting the red tape, transforming a city that was slow to change to a city of “yes.” 

“So, getting to ‘yes,’ providing more flexible uses and making downtown a 24/7 neighborhood, that’s what starting to happen now,” said Breed. 

“Removing the restrictions is important. So I believe that during my time, doing all this work, we have set San Francisco up for what is possible.”

That post-pandemic period also saw a marked increase in crime. 

Breed said she brought on a new district attorney, Brooke Jenkins, to make sure there was accountability and consequences for those who broke the law, including drug dealers and users, as the city struggled with a surge in fentanyl use.

Breed also said she’s worked to change the sometimes distorted image of San Francisco to make it a destination for police officer recruitment and helped usher in new technology, all of which she says are responsible for the city’s declining crime rate. 

“We have the tools,” Breed said. “We’ve changed the laws, we’ve built the capacity to address it a lot differently than we did when we came out of the pandemic. That is what led to these remarkable results that we’re starting to see, and it’s only going to get better.”

The mayor said she also worked hard to find a solution to the homelessness crisis that spilled out into the streets. 

“I really focused in on the issues that, now, have changed for the better,” said Breed. “More to do, of course, not where they need to be, but, we have helped over 20,000 people exit homelessness permanently.”

As for her plans going forward, Breed is not offering a lot of details. 

“I’m looking forward to what the future holds,” said Breed. “I gotta say, just being mayor of San Francisco has just really been the honor of my life. It’s been a joy. Yes, it has had its challenges. Its up and its downs, but this is one of the most incredible cities in the world. I’m so proud that I have had the privilege to serve as the mayor of San Francisco.”

The mayor did say that for now, her focus is on continuing to serve the city until Jan. 8 when a new mayor is sworn in.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Colorado Avalanche looked tired after one period Friday night, but one of their new goaltenders kept them afloat until the rest of the club found enough energy to grind out a win.

That script has been a familiar one during the toughest stretch of schedule the Avs have faced, and these points might prove to be incredibly valuable. Scott Wedgewood made 29 saves, the Avalanche rebounded to fend off the Anaheim Ducks, 4-2, at Honda Center.

“After the first 20 (minutes), we weren’t happy with anything,” Wedgewood said. “A couple guys voiced their opinions on what could be done better and we turned the tide. You can’t accept the first period at this level.

“You put this jersey on and you expect to win every night, right? You have this squad, this team and ever since I got here, I put the jersey on and I expect two points. We expect two points. It’s the standard you have to hold ourselves to.”

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, while Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen and Valeri Nichushkin had two points each. Wedgewood, along with Mackenzie Blackwood, has repeatedly provided a level of consistent goaltending the club had been lacking.

The overall play for the Avs is not near its peak, and a season full of injuries combined with a stretch of 13 road games in the past 17 contests has likely played a part in that. But they have now won six of eight, and are a season-high five games better than .500 (20-15-0).

“You chip it in different ways,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We get a power-play goal, a 5-on-5 goal, a shorthanded goal, then the guys did a nice job with the empty net. I thought the penalty kill was great.

“But probably the difference in this game because of what we gave up — which was too much — was Wedgewood. I thought he was outstanding.”

This game may have turned on a bad-luck play … for the Avs. Anaheim defenseman Olen Zellweger clipped MacKinnon in the face with his stick and was sent to the penalty box for high sticking. The officials conferred and decided to wipe away the infraction. It looked from multiple replay angles that MacKinnon was hit by the puck after Keaton Middleton tried to clear it out of danger, but a zoomed-out angle showed that Zellweger clearly got the reigning MVP ahead of the puck.

So, with the Avs down a goal and trying to kill off a penalty, the hockey gods evened out the fortune. Zellweger stumbled near the top of the Anaheim offensive zone, which allowed Logan O’Connor to spring Parker Kelly for a breakaway and a shorthanded goal at 6:40 of the second. It was Kelly’s third goal of the season and Colorado’s second of the year while shorthanded.

Nichushkin put the Avalanche in front midway through the second. Anaheim goalie John Gibson didn’t handle a Makar shot cleanly, and Nichushkin was waiting at the doorstep for one of the easiest goals he’s going to score. It was his 10th of the season in just 18 games played.

Colorado’s power play came to California mired in a 5-for-48 slump, but the Avs scored twice with the extra man Thursday night in San Jose and struck again for an insurance goal early in the third against Anaheim. MacKinnon started the play with a rare dump-in from the neutral zone. Rantanen kept the Ducks’ clearing attempt in the offensive zone, and then MacKinnon found Makar with a cross-ice pass for the defenseman’s 10th goal of the year at 3:30 of the third.

MacKinnon added an empty-net goal, and pushed his NHL-leading point total to 55 in 35 games.

The Avalanche survived the first period, but only because Wedgewood was stellar. Colorado looked like a team playing on the road for the 13th time in 17 games, and like a club playing for the second straight night against a rested team. Anaheim had nearly 80% of the expected goals and seven of the eight high-danger chances in the opening 20 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick.

Beyond Kelly’s goal, the Avs’ penalty kill has also surged since completing the double goaltending switch. Colorado killed off five Anaheim power plays in this one, including one in the final four minutes. The Avs are now 20 for 21 on the kill since swapping Alexandar Georgiev for Blackwood.

“When we made the goalie switches, you see where our penalty kill is going,” Bednar said. “The analytics have been good all year. I’m not putting it on our past goaltending, because that’s not fair, either, but goalies have their strengths and weaknesses and it seems like we’ve got a couple guys here now that are really in tune with our penalty kill.

“We’re getting the saves we need. We’re getting the whistles we need. They’ve just been really sharp.”

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Originally Published: December 20, 2024 at 10:54 PM MST