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EXCLUSIVE: A celebrity attorney who represents athletes, including Simone Biles, in abuse cases, is the latest critic to target San Jose State University (SJSU) and the California State University (CSU) system for its ongoing volleyball scandal.
The attorney, John Manly, comes forward after Pak Gazette Digital reported that SJSU was informed of allegations of graphic assault against current volleyball coach Todd Kress during the 2024 season, while the university was already under the Title IX microscope for a national controversy involving a trans athlete on the volleyball team.
“This is not about trans rights… and frankly, the trans part of this is a smokescreen for the university to justify its abhorrent treatment and protection of female students over the last 20 years,” Manly told Pak Gazette Digital.
“What’s happened here, and I can tell you I think that’s happened at San Jose State, is that the entire Title IX process has been bastardized. Instead of a process that was supposed to be about protecting students and athletes, it was actually about avoiding university liability…
“The school needs a wake-up call and, frankly, new leadership.”
INSIDE THE AFTERMATH OF THE SJSU VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: ‘THIS IS AN OBVIOUS PROBLEM’
Manly served as lead legal counsel from 2017 to 2021 for Biles and the other women who were sexually abused by Larry Nassar, helping victims reach a $380 million settlement. He also previously represented SJSU female athletes in a separate case of sexual abuse by a coach dating back to 2009 to 2020.
The attorney says he sees similarities in the culture behind SJSU’s handling of the volleyball situation, and the cultures behind the problems in two other cases.
“Culture-wise, yes,” Manly said of the similarities to other cases he has handled. “I mean, there was a culture at Michigan State where there was the Larry Nassar case, and I was the lead attorney on that, where this was just acceptable and ignored because it benefited the university…Same with the coach at San Jose State who was convicted on federal civil rights charges.
“When you have a culture that doesn’t value students and treats them frankly as funding devices, when it doesn’t value athletes and treats them frankly as funding devices, and to benefit the, quote, ‘brand’ of the university, this is what happens.”
SJSU previously reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in September 2021 for $1.6 million to be distributed among 13 student-athletes.
The investigation found that the school’s former head coach, Scott Shaw, subjected athletes to unwanted sexual touching under the guise of medical treatment, and that the university ignored complaints for more than a decade. Manly also served as legal counsel for SJSU victims.
Then, in late January of this year, the U.S. Department of Education determined that the school again violated Title IX in its handling of the volleyball team. But in March, SJSU and CSU sued the federal government to challenge the investigation and its conclusions.
Meanwhile, SJSU and CSU are being sued by 11 Mountain West players, including former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser, over their experience with the trans athlete. Slusser has since said that she and her other former teammates at SJSU were allegedly never informed of the allegations against Kress after they were sent to the school in October 2024.
Manly hopes the new developments and SJSU story will have an impact in the courts on all legal fronts related to the scandal.
“I would hope that the courts would look at this as a culture and say, ‘Something’s wrong here.’ I mean, you look at the coach, you look at the coach, you look at the school’s other issues with the culture, and they need to protect the kids. And I hope the end result of that case is for that to happen, because it’s certainly not happening now,” Manly said.
Pak Gazette Digital submitted two public records requests to SJSU seeking documents related to the allegations against Kress, but both were denied.
“The fact that they don’t file the paperwork says a lot,” Manly said.
The first request sought emails between the school and one of Kress’ former players at Fairfield University that contained a letter involving allegations that Kress attacked her in a hotel room in 1998. SJSU denied that request, citing personal privacy exemptions.
The second request sought internal communication related to the school’s own investigation into those allegations. SJSU denied that request, also citing personal privacy exemptions as well as attorney-client privilege.
Both SJSU responses also stated, “Disclosure of these records would therefore constitute an invasion of privacy that outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”
As a lawyer, Manly disagrees with that answer, considering what’s at stake.
“It’s completely false. There’s a whole litany of California cases that say the safety of others and the safety of, uh, and, you know, people essentially knowing that someone is dangerous outweighs that. And, if there’s a privacy interest, you just redact the victim’s name,” Manly said.
Pak Gazette Digital received copies of emails exchanged between SJSU and the former Fairfield player, from an independently verified source. Pak Gazette Digital has independently verified that he played at Fairfield with Kress in the 1998 season, but does not reveal his name.
SJSU DID NOT PENALIZE VOLLEYBALL COACH DURING TRANS SCANDAL AMID TITLE IX COMPLAINTS, FEDERAL FINDINGS ALLEGE
Head coach Todd Kress of the San Jose State Spartans watches during the second set against the Air Force Falcons on Falcon Court at East Gym on Oct. 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Photo by (Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
The original letter was written by a woman who played for Kress at Fairfield University in the late 90s and sent to SJSU on October 24, 2024.
That first email he sent to SJSU contained the letter with the allegations written against Kress, which was originally sent to Fairfield University. The alleged incident occurred at 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 a T-shirt to Kress’ room.
“I told him I wanted nothing to do with his madness. I was distraught over the loss and was not interested in his drunken madness, which was common on trips.”
The former player added that her teammate “promised Todd that she wouldn’t throw water on me or do anything juvenile, so I reluctantly agreed to bring her the jersey.”
“I knocked on the door and Todd answered. He immediately took candy from a plastic container and smeared it all over my face and hair. He then forcibly threw me on the bed and pinned me down. I was shocked. He let go of me and then pulled down his pants and put his butt in my face.
“Amazed… that’s the only word I can think of to describe how I felt at that moment… Todd was drunk. I got up and walked to the door.
“Todd grabbed me again, picked me up and threw me into the bathtub, where he held me down and threatened to turn on the shower while I was lying there to ‘wipe the candy off my face.’ At this point I was struggling to get away from him.
“Todd let me out of the bathtub, laughing, and then stood in front of the door blocking my exit. Todd told me he would only let me out if I took a drink of liquor, which I did only to get him to move away from the door. Once he did, I ran toward her. He chased me. I went into my room and, although he seemed angry, he turned around and walked out calmly,” the letter alleges.
SJSU athletic director Jeff Konya responded to the former Fairfield player in an email the same day the letter was sent.
“I want to acknowledge that I have received your correspondence and will share it with the appropriate authorities on the SJSU campus for further 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 evaluate possible next steps, which may or may not include an investigation into the reported conduct,” Lim wrote.
Three days later, on Nov. 7, Lim sent another email to the former Fairfield player, thanking her and her attorney for meeting with them.
“I am very sorry for your previous 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 you believe he poses to the SJSU volleyball team,” Lim wrote.
“We are evaluating the information you provided to us and determining appropriate next steps. If you two agree, I would appreciate you staying in touch.”
There was no further correspondence between the two parties after that exchange, Pak Gazette Digital has learned.
Manly said the lack of visible follow-up reflects what he believes is a broader failure in the way universities handle allegations that could expose them to liability.
“These complaints end up in the general counsel’s office and die. And the reason is very simple. Lawyers rarely find their own clients guilty,” Manly said.
“The message it sends is, ‘We’re going to keep the coach because he wins and we don’t want to look bad.’ It’s not supposed to work that way… This isn’t just about one trans athlete. In my opinion, it’s about a problematic culture at San Jose State that allowed this to happen. This isn’t the only group of women who have been mistreated and not heard. It’s a litany of them.”
Manly hopes the legislature, whether state or federal, will issue subpoenas for what happened.
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“The legislature could subpoena these people, and they should,” he said.
“I hope that the board members of the Cal State University system, appointed by the governor, the Senate and the Assembly, will really focus on this and hold a hearing on it and say, ‘How did we end up hiring this guy?'”
