San Jose State University said women's volleyball associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose is "not with the team at this time" for undisclosed reasons.
Batie-Smoose, who has been coaching the Spartans since 2023, came to the university with more than 20 years of coaching experience, per SJSU's website. Prior to her tenure with the Spartans she coached at Fairfield University and got her start in Division 1 coaching at Holy Cross and Cornell universities.
The university confirmed Batie-Smoose's absence on Saturday to NBC Bay Area, but did not provide specifics.
"The associate head coach of the San Jose State University women's volleyball team is not with the team at this time, and we will not provide further information on this matter," SJSU said in a statement.
Batie-Smoose did not respond to NBC Bay Area's request for comment.
It is unclear if Batie-Smoose's absence is related to the ongoing controversy surrounding the program, after it was reported that one team’s players is transgender.
Already, four teams in the Mountain West Conference—the University of Nevada, Reno, the University of Wyoming, Boise State University and Utah State University—have forfeited games against the Spartans. Separately, Southern Utah University, which is not in the MWC, forfeited its match.
Sports
The protest against the Spartans’ program was further fueled after a federal lawsuit was filed against the NCAA.
The lawsuit specifically calls out an NCAA policy that allows transgender athletes to compete on women's teams under certain conditions.
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A member of the Spartans volleyball team joined the suit last month, claiming that having a transgender teammate is unsafe for her, her teammates, and opposing teams.
NBC Bay Area is not naming the player.
Due to the controversy, SJSU has provided extra security for the team at home and away matches.
Prior to the Nevada Wolf Pack's forfeiture, Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez spoke out against the Spartan's opponents' decisions.
Nevarez told the Associated Press that teams willing to avoid playing SJSU are "not what we celebrate in college athletics" and added that she is heartbroken over this season's events.
"It breaks my heart because they're human beings, young people, student-athletes on both sides of this issue that are getting a lot of national negative attention," Nevarez said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It just doesn't feel right to me."
Govenors from Nevada, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming have all publicly supported the canceled games, citing that there needs to be fairness in women's sports.
SJSU has not commented on the politicians' "fairness" statements.
Despite the controversy, the University of New Mexico volleyball coach Jon Newman-Gonchar said the team would face off against the Spartans on Saturday.
The Spartans beat the Lobos 3-1 at Spartan Gym.
The Spartans are expected to face off against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas at Cox Pavilion at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of the story stated that women's volleyball associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose was suspended. It has since been clarified to note Batie-Smoose is "not with the team at this time."
