Lawsuit Against Cal State U Alleges Coach Fired in Retaliation for Speaking Out in Support of Single Sex Sports
Complaint alleges there was no punishment for a coach who engaged in “direct violations of Title IX in recruiting a male athlete to play as a female, failing to inform the female players of a male being on the team, sharing locker rooms and overnight accommodations with female players.”
The former San Jose State University (SJSU) Women’s Volleyball Associate Head Coach has filed a federal employment and Title IX lawsuit against the California State University Board of Trustees alleging discrimination and retaliation.
According to the Complaint, upon her arrival at SJSU in 2024, Coach Melissa Batie-Smoose learned the school had recruited a male athlete, who identifies as a woman, to play on its NCAA Division 1 women’s volleyball team. In October 2024, she filed a Title IX complaint against SJSU and the NCAA opposing his participation on the women’s team. According to the court filing, shortly thereafter Coach Batie-Smoose was suspended on the basis that she had violated the male athlete’s private information (i.e. that he was male), despite his sex being published in the media. In January 2025, she was terminated, as described in the complaint, under the pretext that her contract had expired.
In the lawsuit filed late last week, the former coach alleges that “Defendant’s actions in suspending and terminating Plaintiff were not based on her job performance but were in direct retaliation for her opposition to sex discrimination and her advocacy for the fairness and equal access to programs, services, and activities for female athletes.” Erin Friday, one of the attorneys for Coach Batie-Smoose and President of Our Duty, a parent advocacy group, told LIF that the coach “is one of the few public voices willing to advocate for females despite knowing that she risked her job.”
The suit highlights that another coach who supported the male athlete on the women’s team was not disciplined, even though his actions were “direct violations of Title IX in recruiting a male athlete to play as a female, failing to inform the female players of a male being on the team, sharing locker rooms and overnight accommodations with female players.”
The complaint also includes the shocking allegation that the male athlete, along with other team members, met with a player from an opposing team to discuss “throwing the game” and targeting for injury a fellow teammate who had joined a lawsuit against the NCAA for its policy allowing males to compete in men’s sports.
The lawsuit references Trump’s Executive Order 14168 “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” Attorney Friday describes the EO as “incredibly impactful to provide a stronger legal basis to challenge males who claim to be women from invading female spaces but the liberal states are ignoring it, choosing instead to unlawfully accept Title IX funding while the cases move forward.”
Noting that polls show that 80% of Americans are against males competing as females, Friday says that the “Democrats are either more terrified of the transgender lobby than their own constituents, or really just do not care about the fairness, safety and dignity of females. Either way, the treatment of females will be a prominent issue in the mid-terms with the Democrats on the wrong side.”
Among other requested relief, the suit seeks reinstatement, back pay, compensatory and punitive damages.
I reached out to Cal State for comment on the lawsuit, but have not received a response as of this writing.
Amanda Stulman is a Senior Researcher and Attorney at the Legal Insurrection Foundation
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Comments
Don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows.
Good. Sue ’em until they bleed. Make ’em squeal.
If I did display my SJSU diploma anyplace, I would take it down and place it face down in my underwear drawer. But I don’t so I won’t.
“According to the Complaint, upon her arrival at SJSU in 2024, Coach Melissa Batie-Smoose learned the school had recruited a male athlete, who identifies as a woman, to play on its NCAA Division 1 women’s volleyball team.” We are not talking about the occasional walk-on but rather an active leadership role by the university athletic department in the recruitment of males to play in women’s sports. Once one goes down that unethical path, ethics will not constrain any other behavior. The head coach, athletic director, president, and anyone in on the decision should be fired.
Agree. I suspect this may be a big case as the defendant/s is/are a State University Board. It seems to me that, found guilty/responsible – whatever the proper term might be – it has the potential to put state-wide boards of all manner, not just education, on notice that they may be held responsible for events at lower levels within their states, that they cannot avoid responsibility for their actions by pushing it down to players at local levels. Nation-wide that would be a very, very good thing. It certainly would be here in New York State.
lefty is winning at the local levels
black matriarchy agenda is the agenda