SJSU volleyball coach’s alleged assault victim speaks out for the first time since allegations surfaced
EXCLUSIVE: The woman who has accused current San Jose State University (SJSU) head volleyball coach Todd Kress of attacking her in a hotel room has come forward with her first statements since the allegations went public. Kress is widely known for overseeing the controversial 2024 season that was overshadowed by a trans athlete scandal involving Blaire Fleming and female teammate Brooke Slusser.
The woman, who previously played for Kress at Fairfield University, informed SJSU officials in October 2024 of her alleged experience with the coach.
"SJSU has known I feared for the safety of the women in the program since October of 2024 and yet they have allowed Todd to continue to coach and travel with the team," she told Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity.
"I informed both Fairfield and SJSU of my 1998 encounter with Todd after reading accounts of young women on the 2024 SJSU team describing his intimidation, coercive, and manipulative behaviors.
"Why don’t some women come forward after being assaulted by those in positions of power? It’s a fair question. One needs to look no further than the situation at SJSU."
INSIDE THE FALLOUT OF THE SJSU VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: ‘THIS IS AN OBVIOUS PROBLEM’
Kress's alleged victim is speaking out two weeks after the allegations were first reported.
Neither SJSU nor Kress has addressed the allegations since then despite multiple inquiries, and the coach has made multiple social media posts boasting his new recruiting class in that time as well.
Fox News Digital reported on July 7 that during the SJSU volleyball trans athlete scandal's peak in the fall of 2024, administrators received an email from the woman in October of that year. The email included a letter to Fairfield that included the allegations that Kress attacked the player in a hotel room in 1998.
Emails obtained by Fox News Digital via an independent verified source show that SJSU officials acknowledged the receipt of the allegations, met with the former Fairfield player and her lawyer, thanked her for coming forward and even apologized for her experiences.
Fox News Digital submitted a public records request to SJSU seeking emails related to an investigation of those allegations, but the request was denied, with SJSU citing privacy exemptions and attorney-client privilege.
"Did SJSU investigate my complaint? They were given information that would have allowed them to corroborate my claims. Their refusal to release their investigative steps and final determination allows for much speculation," the former player added.
"My singular motivation was a hope that in bringing to the attention of school administrators what Todd did to me, they might act to protect young women. I trusted the system and chose to operate without public attention."
Fox News Digital has verified her identity and that she played for Kress at Fairfield in 1998.
Slusser, who played under Kress for two seasons in 2023-24, previously told Fox News Digital that she and other teammates in 2024 were not told of the allegations that fall.
"The school gave us absolutely zero information. This was never brought up once." Slusser said. Slusser is currently suing SJSU for her own alleged experience playing under Kress and alongside Fleming.
The alleged incident involving Kress and the former Fairfield player occurred in a hotel after Fairfield’s loss to Clemson in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament in December, according to her letter.
Part of the letter alleges, "He immediately took caramel from a plastic container and smeared it all over my face and hair. He then forcibly threw me on the bed and held me down. I was in shock. He let go of me and then pulled his pants down and put his back side in my face.
"Todd again grabbed me, picked me up, and threw me into the bathtub where he held me down and threatened to turn on the shower with me laying there to ‘clean the caramel off of my face.’ At this point I was fighting back to get away from him.
"Todd let me get out of the tub, laughing, and then he stood in front of the door blocking my exit. Todd told me he would only let me leave if I took a shot of liquor, which I did only to get him to move away from the door. Once he did, I ran for it. He chased me. I got into my room and although he seemed to be in a rage, he turned and calmly walked out," the letter alleges.
Fox News Digital has sent multiple inquiries to Kress, SJSU and the California State University system (CSU) for a response to the allegations and the player's latest statements, but none of the parties has 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 to not suspend or relieve its head volleyball coach during the team's 2024 transgender scandal, despite Title IX-related complaints against the coach. The investigation’s findings made no mention of the former Fairfield player and her letter.
The findings do not mention the coach by name, but Fox News Digital reasonably believes the figure titled "Coach 2" in the findings to be Kress.
"Additional notes indicate the decision to not suspend Coach 2 also included the improper consideration: 'If we relieve him… [w]e could also spark more media attention…. ' University records indicate University officials, including the President of the University, agreed to not suspend Coach 2 because they felt his suspension would unduly disrupt the team," the findings state.
However, the investigation did not disclose what those complaints were, and SJSU and the CSU are suing the department to challenge those findings.
Meanwhile, former associated head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended and later did not have her contract renewed, after submitting a Title IX complaint over the team's alleged handling of Fleming and the women on the team in 2024. Batie-Smoose is waging a wrongful termination lawsuit against SJSU.
Fox News Digital recently submitted a public records request to SJSU seeking emails related to SJSU's investigation of the allegations against Kress, but the request was denied.
"SJSU has conducted a reasonable search for these records under California Government Code §7922.535 and has determined the requested records are not disclosable under the Public Records Act," the SJSU public records office responded.
"First, the request seeks documents exempt under attorney-client privilege. Additionally, the requested communications implicate substantial privacy interests. Disclosure of these records would therefore constitute an invasion of privacy that outweighs the public interest in disclosure."
Prior to that, Fox News Digital submitted a formal public records request to San Jose State University seeking copies of the Oct. 24, 2024 complaint letter that was sent to the school by Kress's former player, a Nov. 1 follow-up email, and a Nov. 7 response to the woman from the university's Title IX office.
But that record was also denied.
"The requested communications implicate substantial privacy interests," the university's response stated.
"Disclosure of these records would therefore constitute an invasion of privacy that outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Specifically, these records are being withheld subject to the following exemptions: Personnel 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 in protecting substantial and significant privacy rights."
Fox News Digital was given copies of emails exchanged between SJSU and the former Fairfield player, from an independently verified source. The letter with the allegations was forwarded to SJSU administration on Oct. 24, 2024, and a response acknowledging receipt of the letter was sent later that same day.
Then on Nov. 4, 2024, former SJSU interim Title IX and Gender Equity Officer Peter Lim reached out to set up a meeting with the former player and her attorney.
"Thank you for sharing your concerns about 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 assess potential next steps, which may or may not include an investigation into the reported conduct," Lim wrote.
Three days after that, on Nov. 7, Lim sent another email to the former Fairfield player, thanking her and her attorney for meeting with them.
"I am so sorry about 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 that you believe he presents to SJSU’s volleyball team," Lim wrote.
"We are evaluating the information you provided and determining appropriate next steps. If it is okay with the two of you, I would appreciate staying in touch."
There was no further correspondence between the two parties after that exchange, Fox News Digital has learned.
Fox News Digital has posed multiple questions to Kress, Lim, SJSU admins and public records office clerks, and CSU spokespeople regarding their responses to the allegations, the woman's recent statements, Slusser's statements, what, if any, investigation took place into the allegations, and why they deem disclosure of the requested records are not enough in the public interest to warrant disclosure. But no response to those questions has been given by any of the parties.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Fairfield for a response to the former player's allegations and recent statement, but was told by a spokesperson, "The university does not comment on former or current personnel matters."
