Prior to their Mountain West tournament semifinal match on Friday, three members of the top-ranked Colorado State women's volleyball team knelt during the playing of the national anthem. This action comes amidst ongoing controversy surrounding one of the players, Malaya Jones.

Jones is implicated in an alleged conspiracy with San Jose State University's transgender player, Blaire Fleming. The alleged plot involved manipulating the outcome of a game between their respective schools and intentionally striking Fleming's teammate, Brooke Slusser, with the ball during the match. Although the Mountain West Conference investigated these claims, no disciplinary action was taken.

The allegations stemmed from a Title IX complaint lodged by suspended San Jose State assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose on October 29th. Batie-Smoose's subsequent suspension sparked discontent among Slusser and other team members.

A separate lawsuit includes a statement from San Jose State player Chandler Manusky. Manusky alleges that Fleming, along with other teammates, broke team rules by leaving the team hotel the night before a match against Colorado State. Manusky further claims that Fleming revealed a plan to intentionally lose the match and facilitate Jones striking Slusser in the face during the game on October 3rd. Court documents detail Manusky's account of Fleming sharing game strategies with Jones and discussing how to "throw" the game and set up the attack on Slusser.

Slusser, in a previous interview, confirmed her awareness of Fleming's alleged scheme and expressed her belief that the university's handling of the situation has been inadequate. She voiced frustration over the lack of investigation and questioned the potential consequences if she were in Fleming's position.

The Rams defeated San Diego State in four sets on Friday, advancing to play San Jose State for the conference championship on Saturday. Jones recently received the conference's player of the year award.

Colorado State has not yet issued a statement regarding these events.