SJSU refuses to provide public records related to investigation of allegations against volleyball coach

Former SJSU volleyball star Brooke Slusser spoke out against her former coach Todd Kress after Fox News Digital reported the school was told of decades-old allegations against the coach during Slusser's last season in 2024.

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