**Incident at Former Coach’s Home Under Investigation**
The residence of Melissa Batie-Smoose, a former assistant volleyball coach at San Jose State University, was shot at on Monday night in Scotts Valley, California, as confirmed by Batie-Smoose and local law enforcement. Captain Scott Garner of the Scotts Valley Police Department reported that the weapon used was a pellet gun, and the incident is being treated as an act of vandalism. The pellet has been recovered, and fortunately, no one was injured. Currently, there are no suspects or motives identified, and the investigation is ongoing. “We’re following up with some neighbors to gather more information,” Garner stated. “At this point, there are no surveillance leads or any significant evidence. We will continue our due diligence by interviewing the neighbors.”
Batie-Smoose’s contract with San Jose State was not renewed after it expired on January 31, following her suspension from the program in November. She had previously filed a Title IX complaint against the program concerning a transgender volleyball player, Blaire Fleming. Additionally, Batie-Smoose is a plaintiff in a lawsuit against SJSU and the Mountain West Conference, alongside 11 conference players, related to the same situation involving Fleming.
While police have not established a connection between the shooting and Batie-Smoose’s Title IX complaint, her departure from the program, or the ongoing lawsuit, she believes she was “targeted.” “I do believe it’s connected,” Batie-Smoose told reporters. “It can’t be a coincidence. I’ve never experienced anything like this, and my neighbors, some of whom have lived here for over a decade, have never seen anything like it either.”
The incident occurred while Batie-Smoose was participating in a virtual meeting with members of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS), discussing the legal battle and the NCAA’s new gender eligibility policy. During the meeting, she heard a loud noise that sounded like breaking glass. “At first, I was confused about the sound, but then I looked over and saw the bullet hole in the window,” she recounted. Batie-Smoose quickly crawled behind her couch and called her husband, urging him to contact the police. The pellet was fired at a window facing her backyard, and police indicated that the shot likely came from the street behind her home. Most of her neighbors were not present during the incident. Upon learning that the police classified the event as vandalism due to the type of weapon used, Batie-Smoose expressed disbelief, calling the determination “crazy.
