San Jose State University says it won’t disclose any emails related to an investigation into graphic allegations against volleyball coach Todd Kress that the university was informed of in October 2024. The university has not issued any public statement addressing the allegations at the time of publication.
Fox News Digital submitted a public records request to SJSU seeking emails related to an investigation of those allegations, but the request was denied.
“SJSU has conducted a reasonable search for these records under California Government Code §7922.535 and has determined the requested records are not disclosable under the Public Records Act,” SJSU attorney Laurette Hanna wrote in a response to Fox News Digital, citing privacy exemptions and attorney-client privilege.
The university’s refusal to fulfill a request for the documents comes after Fox News Digital reported last Tuesday on a letter containing allegations against Kress from one of his former players at Fairfield University in 1998, that was sent to SJSU on Oct. 24, 2024, while the volleyball team was embroiled in a season overshadowed by national controversy over the presence of a trans athlete on the team.
The letter’s contents included the allegations that Kress “forcibly threw me on the bed” then “pulled his pants down and put his back side in my face,” and then “picked me up, and threw me into the bathtub where he held me down and threatened to turn on the shower with me laying there.”
SJSU WAS TOLD OF DECADES-OLD ALLEGATIONS AGAINST VOLLEYBALL COACH DURING CONTROVERSIAL 2024 SEASON
“First, the request seeks documents exempt under attorney-client privilege. Additionally, the requested communications implicate substantial privacy interests. Disclosure of these records would therefore constitute an invasion of privacy that outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Specifically, these records are being withheld subject to the following exemptions,” the response added.
“Attorney-Client Privilege. Records subject to the attorney-client privilege and/or attorney work product doctrine. Cal. Govt. Code §7927.705; Cal. Evid. Code §950, et seq., Cal. Code Civ. Pro. §2018.030(a).
“Personnel Records/Privacy. Employee records that include personal information, the release of which would constitute an invasion of personal privacy. Cal. Govt. Code §§7927.700, 7928.300, 7922.000.
“General Privacy Rights. Cal. Govt. Code §7927.705; Cal. Const. Art. 1, §1.
“Balancing Test. Records where the public interest against disclosure outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Cal. Govt. Code §7922.000. Here, the public interest served by disclosure is minimal and is outweighed by the public interest served against disclosure in protecting substantial and significant privacy rights.
“The decision that certain records are exempt and will not be disclosed was made by J. Leah Castella.”
Fox News Digital specifically sought any emails sent or received by former SJSU interim Title IX and Gender Equity Officer Peter Lim, “regarding a letter with a complaint against SJSU volleyball coach Todd Kress from his former Fairfield player [name redacted], and any subsequent investigation of the allegations in the complaint.”
Fox News Digital has since reached back out to SJSU admins, Kress, Lim, Hanna and Castella asking “Why does the university deem the privacy disclosure outweighs the public interest when Kress currently has overseen multiple rosters of young women dating back to the moment the complaint was sent to the University in Oct. 24, and that the university has employed him to actively recruit high school athletes in that time as well?”
But Fox News Digital has not received a response at the time of publication.
Fox News Digital was given copies of emails exchanged between SJSU and the former Fairfield player, from an independently verified source. Fox News Digital has independently verified she played at Fairfield under Kress in the 1998 season, but is not disclosing her name.
The original letter was written by a woman that played for Kress at Fairfield University in the late ’90s, and sent to SJSU on Oct. 24, 2024.
That first email she sent to SJSU contained the letter with the written allegations against Kress, that was originally sent to Fairfield University. The alleged incident occurred in a hotel after Fairfield’s loss to Clemson in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament in December of that year. She wrote that a teammate asked her to bring her a shirt to Kress’ room.
INSIDE THE FALLOUT OF THE SJSU VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: ‘THIS IS AN OBVIOUS PROBLEM’
“I told her I wanted no part of his insanity. I was distraught about the loss and wasn’t interested in his drunken insanity, which was commonplace on trips.”
The former player added that her teammate “promised Todd would not throw water at me or do something juvenile so I reluctantly agreed to bring her the shirt.”
“I knocked on the door and Todd answered. He immediately took caramel from a plastic container and smeared it all over my face and hair. He then forcibly threw me on the bed and held me down. I was in shock. He let go of me and then pulled his pants down and put his back side in my face.
“Astonished… that is the only word I can think of to describe how I felt in that moment… Todd was drunk. I got up and went for the door.
“Todd again grabbed me, picked me up, and threw me into the bathtub where he held me down and threatened to turn on the shower with me laying there to ‘clean the caramel off of my face.’ At this point I was fighting back to get away from him.
“Todd let me get out of the tub, laughing, and then he stood in front of the door blocking my exit. Todd told me he would only let me leave if I took a shot of liquor, which I did only to get him to move away from the door. Once he did, I ran for it. He chased me. I got into my room and although he seemed to be in a rage, he turned and calmly walked out,” the letter alleges.
The former player goes on to allege her teammates “had been drinking with Todd underage.” She also claimed she did not report the incident at the time because she “was scared of losing my scholarship and being the reason my teammates lost theirs.”
When that letter was sent to SJSU, Kress was in the middle of leading a Spartans team that was near the top of the Mountain West Conference standings.
They got there through a few wins and a lot of forfeits from other teams, as SJSU was at the center of a national media controversy over a transgender player. A female teammate had joined a lawsuit claiming she hadn’t been told of that player’s birth sex before joining the team and living together.
Later that day on Oct. 24, 2024, SJSU Athletic Director Jeff Konya responded to the former Fairfield player in an email.
“I want to acknowledge that I am in receipt of your correspondence and will share it with the proper authorities on the SJSU campus for additional review,” Konya wrote.
More than a week later, on Nov. 4, former SJSU interim Title IX and Gender Equity Officer Peter Lim reached out to set up a meeting with the former player and her attorney.
“Thank you for sharing your concerns about Coach Todd Kress. I am sorry to hear about your experiences. I have reviewed your letter and would like to meet with you to better understand your experiences with Coach Kress. The purpose of the meeting would be to help me assess potential next steps, which may or may not include an investigation into the reported conduct,” Lim wrote.
Three days after that, on Nov. 7, Lim sent another email to the former Fairfield player, thanking her and her attorney for meeting with them.
“I am so sorry about your prior experiences with Todd Kress at Fairfield University. I appreciate the time you took to describe those experiences, the impact those experiences continue to have on you, and the safety threat that you believe he presents to SJSU’s volleyball team,” Lim wrote.
“We are evaluating the information you provided and determining appropriate next steps. If it is okay with the two of you, I would appreciate staying in touch.”
There was no further correspondence between the two parties after that exchange, Fox News Digital has learned.
Fox News Digital submitted a public records request seeking copies of documents with criteria that match the emails exchanged between SJSU and Kress’ former player, but the university formally declined the that one too, stating “the requested communications implicate substantial privacy interests.”
“The requested communications implicate substantial privacy interests,” the university’s response stated.
“Disclosure of these records would therefore constitute an invasion of privacy that outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Specifically, these records are being withheld subject to the following exemptions: Personnel Records/Privacy… General Privacy Rights… [and the] Balancing Test. Here, the public interest served by disclosure is minimal and is outweighed by the public interest served against disclosure in protecting substantial and significant privacy rights.”
The university is currently engaged in a Title IX legal battle on multiple fronts, for issues entirely unrelated to the allegations against Kress, over the trans athlete scandal that played out from 2022-24 under the leadership of Kress and former SJSU head volleyball coach Trent Kersten.
SJSU and the California State University system (CSU) are also suing President Donald Trump’s administration after the U.S. Department of Education (ED) determined SJSU violated Title IX in its handling of the trans athlete, challenging the department’s findings.
CSU was granted a court order that states that CSU and ED must file joint status reports every 60 days until the federal defendants decide whether to withhold, pause, terminate, freeze, block, or otherwise refuse funding to SJSU or CSU, or take related action.
If ED decides to withhold funds or take other action, the parties must submit a proposed expedited briefing and hearing schedule within two business days. The schedule is intended to allow CSU to file a motion and have briefing and a hearing completed within 45 days of the government’s decision.
Until that process occurs, ED’s findings will have no effect on SJSU or CSU’s eligibility for federal funds. The Department of Education may not withhold, suspend, or disrupt federal funds based on that letter, proposed agreement, related findings, or the facts under investigation until 30 days after the court hearing, assuming the briefing and hearing happen within 60 days of the government’s decisio
ED’s findings, which were provided by SJSU to Fox News Digital in response to a public records request, suggest the school allegedly considered potential media attention that would arise from taking any disciplinary action against Kress, and the affect it would have on the team.
The findings do not mention the coach by name, but Fox News Digital reasonably believes the figure titled “Coach 2” in the findings to be current SJSU volleyball head coach Todd Kress. The findings specify Coach 2 as the current head coach of the SJSU volleyball team who began his tenure in the 2023, which was the year Kress took over his current position.
“Additional notes indicate the decision to not suspend Coach 2 also included the improper consideration: ‘If we relieve him… [w]e could also spark more media attention…. ‘ University records indicate University officials, including the President of the University, agreed to not suspend Coach 2 because they felt his suspension would unduly disrupt the team,” the findings state.
Former SJSU volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser also leads a lawsuit against SJSU and the CSU for Title IX violations after she shared living spaces and changing spaces with transgender former teammate Blaire Fleming, without being told Fleming was a biological male.
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