Former SJSU volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose's home was vandalized with a pellet gun, police say
Scotts Valley Police and former SJSU volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose have told Fox News Digital her home was shot at on Monday night.
EXCLUSIVE: The home of former San Jose State University assistant volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was shot at on Monday night in Scotts Valley, California, Batie-Smoose and local police have told Fox News Digital.
Scotts Valley Police Department Captain Scott Garner told Fox News Digital that officers have determined that the weapon used was a pellet gun, and it is being investigated as an act of vandalism. The pellet has been recovered by police. Nobody was harmed and no suspect or motive has been determined. The investigation is ongoing.
"We're following up with some neighbors just to see what we can find out," Garner said. "At this point, there's no surveillance, there's no leads, there's no nothing. We're just going to do our due diligence to go and interview the neighbors."
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Batie-Smoose's contract with San Jose State expired and was not renewed on Jan. 31 after she was suspended from the program in November. Batie-Smoose previously filed a Title IX complaint against the program over a situation involving transgender volleyball player Blaire Fleming. Batie-Smoose is also a plaintiff in a lawsuit against SJSU and the Mountain West Conference, along with 11 conference players, over the situation involving Fleming.
No link between Monday night's incident and Batie-Smoose's Title IX complaint, departure from the program and ongoing lawsuit has been determined by police.
But Batie-Smoose believes she was "targeted."
"I do," Batie-Smoose told Fox News Digital when asked if she believes incident was linked to the situation involving SJSU and Fleming. "It can't be a coincidence. I have never had this happen and in our neighborhood I talked to neighbors that have lived there over 10 years and not even a robber in the area, let alone someone shooting at someone in their house."
Batie Smoose said the incident occurred when she was in a virtual meeting with members of the Independent Council on Women's Sports (ICONS).
She was speaking with Mountain West Conference volleyball players involved in the lawsuit and the lead attorney Bill Bock. As they were discussing the legal battle and the NCAA's new policy regarding gender eligibility, Batie-Smoose heard glass break in the background.
"I hear this big sound and it sounds like breaking glass and at first I was just like ‘what just happened? Where did that sound come from?’ And then, once it registered, I look over to the window and I see the bullet hole."
Batie-Smoose said she crawled on the floor behind her couch and called her husband, telling him to call the police. The pellet was shot at the window facing her backyard.
"Police said the shot had to come from the street behind me," Batie-Smoose said, adding that most of her neighbors were not home when the incident occurred.
When Batie-Smoose was informed that police determined the incident was an act of vandalism due what weapon is said to have been used, she called the decision "crazy."
"So because it might potentially not be a gun that it's just considered vandalism even though it can harm you?" Batie-Smoose said. "That's kind of crazy to me. Regardless, if an object at that force comes to your head, you're going to be harmed. It's crazy to me.
"I don't know how this gets downgraded to vandalism."
Batie-Smoose said she previously received hostile emails about her stance on Fleming and trans inclusion in women's sports. She also claimed to have had in-person altercations with individuals in Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley who disagreed with her stance.
"People recognize me in the community and I'm in an area that's speaking out and speaking to fight for women's sports, I'm in an area with some crazies and I definitely believe it was a target on me for speaking out," she said.
Batie-Smoose added that all the coaches and players involved with San Jose State's volleyball program know her address. Batie-Smoose joined the program in 2023, but isn't ruling out individuals outside of the program finding out her address via other means.
"I feel this day and age people could come find your address pretty easily," Batie-Smoose said. "Have I put it out there? No. But I'm sure if you looked hard enough you could find my address."
Batie-Smoose has since left her home and is staying elsewhere while the investigation continues.
San Jose State has provided a statement to Fox News Digital, addressing the incident with its former assistant coach.
"We are troubled to hear of this unsettling incident and we hope that police are able to identify the perpetrators. Our thoughts are with the Batie-Smoose family," a university spokesperson said.
Batie-Smoose was suspended from the program on Nov. 2 after she filed the Title IX complaint. The complaint included allegations that Fleming had conspired with an opponent to have former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser hit in the face during a match in October.
Regular police protection was assigned to the team and continued throughout the season amid security concerns, including an incident in which Slusser was informed of a physical threat to her safety on Oct. 2, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Both Slusser's lawsuit and Batie-Smoose's Title IX complaint allege that Fleming conspired with Colorado State volleyball player Malaya Jones ahead of the match between the two programs on Oct. 3. The complaint alleged Fleming provided a scouting report to Jones to ensure a Colorado State competitive advantage, and allegedly established a plan to set up Jones with a clear lane to spike Slusser in the face during the contest.
A Mountain West investigation into Batie-Smoose's allegations did not find sufficient evidence to assign discipline to any player who was named in the allegations, which was stated in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital that was addressed to San Jose State athletic director Jeff Konya and Colorado State athletic director John Weber from Mountain West Deputy Commissioner Bret Gilliland.
Gilliland claimed that any evidence to back the claims in the complaint was insufficient, but did not explicitly state that the allegations were false, according to the letter.
Slusser's attorney, Bill Bock, later provided a statement to Fox News Digital insisting that the investigation had been "infected with bias."
"Because the MWC’s investigation was inadequate, and anything but thorough, and because the MWC’s close-out letter is riddled with errors, the undersigned is issuing this rebuttal and demands that the MWC immediately and publicly release: (1) the investigative report prepared by its investigator(s), and (2) all documents connected to the MWC’s claimed ‘thorough investigation’ and upon which the MWC’s decision not to proceed further was based," read the statement from Bock.
San Jose State is also now under investigation by President Donald Trump's Department of Education to determine whether Title IX violations occurred during Fleming's tenure on the volleyball team.
San José State University President Cynthia Teniente-Matson has told Fox News Digital the university is prepared to cooperate in the investigation.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
