In a recent development, three members of the Colorado State's women's volleyball team, who are the top seeds, took a knee during the national anthem before their Mountain West tournament semifinal game on Friday.
This incident has drawn attention to the team, particularly to Malaya Jones, one of the players who has been embroiled in controversy.
According to Fox News, Jones is alleged to have conspired with Blaire Fleming, a transgender player from San Jose State University, to manipulate the outcome of a game between their respective schools. Jones is also accused of intentionally hitting Fleming's teammate, Brooke Slusser, in the face with a ball during a match. However, the Mountain West Conference, after conducting an investigation into the allegations of conspiracy, closed the case without imposing any disciplinary actions.
The source of these accusations is a Title IX complaint filed by Melissa Batie-Smoose, the suspended assistant head coach of San Jose State, on October 29. Batie-Smoose's suspension, which occurred shortly after the complaint was filed, has caused discontent among Slusser and her teammates.
In a separate lawsuit, Chandler Manusky, a player from San Jose State, recounted an incident from early October. Manusky and her teammates, including Fleming, violated team rules by leaving their team hotel the night before a match against Colorado State. She then discovered an alleged plan by Fleming to ensure their team's loss and to set up Jones to strike Slusser in the face during an October 3 match.
Court documents quote Manusky as saying, "At Jones residence, Fleming had shared with Jones the scouting for the CSU-FC game, and they had discussed Fleming throw[ing] the game and how they would set up Jones to blow up Slusser and blast her in the face during the game."
Slusser, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, expressed her belief that she has been treated unjustly by the university. She argued that the university has not done enough to investigate the matter. "If this was me, and I was the one threatening to do this to my teammate who's caused so much commotion, there would have been action taken immediately," Slusser said. "I was definitely very angry, and I was glad at first to know that it was already made aware to the coaching staff and compliance and everyone, but I don't know if that made me feel any differently. I was just angry because I didn't think someone would go to these lengths."
Despite the controversy, the Rams emerged victorious in their match against San Diego State on Friday, securing a spot in the conference championship against San Jose State on Saturday. Jones, who is at the center of the controversy, was recently named the conference's player of the year. Colorado State, however, has not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter.
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