SJSU trans player and traumatized teammate had a tumultuous Thanksgiving in their last trip together amid ongoing lawsuits.

Blaire Fleming and Brooke Slusser traveled to Las Vegas the week before Thanksgiving for their final volleyball trip together.

The following evening, they attended a magic show in the downtown area with their teammates. A security guard was present in the auditorium to protect them. Fleming, Slusser, and the rest of the players watched as magicians attempted to uncover the deepest secrets of their audience members on stage.

In an exclusive interview with Planet Chronicle Digital, Slusser revealed that they were speculating about individuals' confidential information.

Slusser said no one from their team went up on stage.

"Perhaps it would have happened if someone had been called up, but it didn't," she stated.

The magicians who skipped over them avoided a daunting task.

Slusser is involved in two lawsuits against the NCAA over its policies on gender identity. She joined the suit led by former college swimmer Riley Gaines in September, alleging that she shared a bedroom and changing spaces with Fleming, a biological male, for an entire season without prior knowledge.

In November, she filed a lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference, accusing Fleming of conspiring with a Colorado State volleyball player to have Slusser spiked in the face with a ball during a game on Oct. 3. Despite a conference investigation, there was insufficient evidence to assign discipline.

Slusser never got spiked in the face during that game, but she had previously experienced a similar incident with a volleyball. She told Planet Chronicle Digital that the experience was painful, but she brushed it off. However, she also experienced a more severe pain when her teammate Fleming accidentally spiked her with the ball.

In their first season together in 2023, Slusser accidentally took one of Fleming's signature spikes to her thigh. Despite not knowing that Fleming was a trans athlete at the time, Slusser had to nurse dark bruises on her thigh for an entire week after the incident.

She discovered months later that her coaches and other school administrators had concealed the truth from her. Despite this, she was still required to practice with Blaire, travel with Blaire, and set up Blaire for spikes against other female players in matches.

Slusser stated that this season has been so traumatizing that he doesn't have a proudest moment.

Slusser even had to spend Thanksgiving with Blaire this past Thursday.

Fleming and Slusser had a Thanksgiving feast in the same dining room two days after their security escort to the magic show in downtown Las Vegas. Slusser's parents were present, and she remembered seeing Fleming's family members there too. The team ordered takeout from a local Las Vegas restaurant, sharing trays of typical Thanksgiving food. Slusser made a conscious effort to avoid dairy, as she often does, considering the sports science advantages and overall wellness.

Slusser happily said, "The meal ended up being pretty good actually."

"I enjoyed myself with my friends in a room filled with various tables while sitting with my group."

She added that the table conversations were "all non-volleyball" topics.

Although the team knew they were advancing to the Mountain West Tournament final after Boise State forfeited its semifinal match against SJSU and Fleming, it was not a topic they discussed at the table, according to Slusser.

Slusser and his team watched the quarterfinal match between Boise State and Utah State the night before and scouted both teams. They were in their hotel rooms when they were called for a team meeting, where their coaches informed them they were going straight to the finals.

Slusser stated that there was always a possibility that we wouldn't make it to the semifinals, even though it was always in the back of our minds.

Despite being aware that Boise State and Utah State had already forfeited to them in the regular season amid controversy, they still did the scouting for the quarterfinal matchup.

Boise State forfeited against SJSU for the third time this year, while the Spartans were in a Las Vegas hotel eating takeout turkey and green beans. Meanwhile, the Broncos players were being hailed as heroes by Republican figures, including their home-state Gov. Brad Little, for refusing to face Fleming.

Although Slusser was not thrilled about the prospect of playing in the final and earning a trip to the NCAA tournament, she recognized it as an opportunity to achieve her professional goal of working in sports science.

She clung to Fleming as tightly as she had throughout the season on the court.

Slusser acknowledged that Fleming has been a significant competitive advantage to the team this season and was uncertain if they would have made it to the championship round without the trans athlete.

According to Slusser, when Blaire plays well, hitting the ball results in a kill almost every time, giving us a significant advantage.

Slusser played alongside Fleming in every match this season, despite ongoing legal disputes and national controversy. Fleming led the conference in kills, while Slusser constantly felt a fear that threatened to undermine her competitive drive every time she set up Fleming for a kill against female opponents.

"Slusser admitted that she was afraid of hurting Blaire, her 6 feet, 1 inch tall trans female teammate, when setting her up for a kill."

Fleming's viral clip of spiking the ball against San Diego State player Keira Herron on Oct. 10 caught President-elect Donald Trump's attention during a Planet Chronicle town hall interview the next day. Trump used the clip to advocate for a ban on trans inclusion in women's sports.

During an Oct. 17 match, one of Fleming's spikes accidentally knocked a New Mexico State player to the ground.

"Slusser expressed concern for their safety, stating, "I was worried about them and didn't want anything to happen to them.""

Despite Slusser and his teammates' efforts to set up their trans female teammate for third place in conference kills, she still managed to finish first.

Despite and because of the scandal, they rode that formula all the way to a conference championship, with Slusser and Fleming earning their team's only two Mountain West honorable mentions, and Fleming finishing second in the entire conference in kills.

They earned a first-round bye in the Mountain West tournament because six of their wins were due to forfeits from teams that refused to play them. They were guaranteed to face one of those teams in the semifinal, as Utah State and Boise State were paired up in the quarterfinal.

The Spartans' sluggish performance in the championship game against Colorado State was due to their heavy takeout meal and a week-long stay in Las Vegas without playing a volleyball game.

In the match, Fleming made several mistakes and had a low hitting percentage in the first two sets, resulting in Colorado State falling behind 2-0.

The Spartans followed Fleming's lead and managed to avoid elimination in the third set. Despite finishing the game with 17 kills, Fleming made nine errors, and SJSU struggled to keep up in the fourth set, ultimately collapsing.

Todd Kress, the head coach of the team that forfeited to SJSU, released a statement on Fox New Digital condemning the teams that forfeited. He stated that the forfeits led to "horrible, hateful messages" being directed at his team's coaches and players.

Slusser avoided the head coach and went to find suspended associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoos, who had traveled to Las Vegas to watch the team play despite being suspended for filing a Title IX complaint against SJSU, which contained allegations that Fleming conspired with a Colorado State player to have Slusser spiked in the face.

Slusser and her teammates were moved by Batie-Smoose's suspension in early November. Seeing her triumphant return to Las Vegas after their shared struggles was a meaningful experience.

As she walked off the court for the final time as a college athlete, Slusser experienced a sudden sense of relief.

She felt a sense of relief that she would no longer be teammates with Fleming, but she has remained a changed person and continues to fight legal battles against her university and the college sports establishment in court.

She said it has even affected her family.

"Slusser stated that the experience has made him change his perspective on college sports. If he has kids in the future who are going into college sports, he will be very cautious about who he sends them to and who he allows them to play for. Seeing how his parents were so angry after trusting the staff and sending him to San Jose, and how it all happened, he believes it will change the way he views things as a parent for his kids."

Slusser believes that this experience could impact her future relationships and trust with others.

"Slusser acknowledged that he has always been cautious when meeting new people, but only trusts them once he has determined there is something he should trust. He believes that this has changed over time and now he only trusts new people if he wants to or if he has a reason to do so."

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