By: The Spear’s Editorial Staff

After a nearly nine-month investigation into an alleged Title IX violation, San Jose State assistant softball coach Chase Turner has been cleared by Title IX representatives to return from suspension eight days before the team’s preseason starts.



An anonymous letter written by a few members of the team was sent to SJSU Athletics in March. The letter included a laundry list of accusations and complaints.



The accusations included but were not limited to:

Players drinking at team events

Claims that head coach Peter Turner, Chase’s father, discriminated against certain players

Sexual misconduct by Chase Turner

After the athletic department received the letter, Chase, who has worked for the Spartans since 2010, was suspended on June 4. He waited 238 days before being cleared of all accusations on Monday.

The nine-month hiatus was a blow to the softball players who felt the team was suffering without his guidance.



“We’ve gone this whole fall with basically no coaching,” said senior outfielder Kristen Heffley. “It’s been pretty frustrating — especially as a senior.”



According to Peter’s attorney, Tracy Warren, Chase was accused of violating Executive Order 1097 of Title IX.



The order prohibits, “discrimination, harassment and retaliation, sexual misconduct, dating and domestic violence and stalking against students,” according to the Title IX website.



For the softball players who were interviewed by the Title IX investigators, the experience was stressful.



“We wanted and have always wanted an unbiased and fair process,” Warren said. “The players were concerned, and even expressed to me that they felt like they were being steered in a direction and were not being heard.”



The players went through a drawn out interview process as part of the investigation that called for repeated questioning over a span of two months.



They described the interviews primarily as “yes or no” questions of events that they say took place — but were heavily “taken out of context.”



For example, when junior infielder Cassidy Clark was called in, she was asked questions about what she thought was a playful moment with Chase that involved practicing a self-defense technique that she learned in a class.



“One day at practice, I asked Chase if I could practice a self-defense move on him. So, he gets me in a chokehold and I try to get out of it, and it doesn’t work,” Clark said. “But, in my interview, they said, ‘I heard Chase asked you to wrestle during practice.’ I explained my side of it and I also added that if I thought Chase was a pervert or sexually harassed any of us, I would never ask him to get anywhere near me.”



“That’s just one of the ways they tried to make it seem worse than it was,” she said.



Clark was not the only player to claim the interview questions were leading. Heffley, along with others, were asked about Chase “being aroused and touching himself” during practice in a way that did not allow them to specify as much as they would have wanted.



“To me, touching himself means that he is playing with his ‘thing,’” Heffley said. “I have a nephew and a father who ‘adjust’ themselves and that is the term that we use.”



The action was merely an equipment (or a clothing) adjustment that is common for nearly every male player or coach on a diamond.



Before the letter was sent in, the playful environment surrounding the team between players and coaches was part of the team’s chemistry, according to Blair. Once claims of Chase swearing at his players and making inappropriate jokes were made out of context, the dynamics drastically changed with worry of offending the wrong people.



“Now, you can feel the animosity when we’re together,” said student assistant coach Desiree Severance.



The allegations of discrimination were described as Peter “favoring” his Caucasian players by building his starting lineup around them. Other claims of favoritism were written, accusing him of reportedly excusing the starting players for violating the team’s code of conduct.



“The majority of the people who were mentioned in the letter were accused of breaking team rules, hiding alcohol in the bushes at team fundraisers or taking alcohol on trips,” said junior infielder Georgia Blair. “There was also a favoritism thing that claimed he liked us more — that’s why we played and that’s why we started — but if you look at the stats, we were the best players.”



Statistics from the 2018 season showed that there were minority players who started in at least 33 of the team’s 48 games.



The last nine months were grueling for the team, especially for both Peter and Chase. According to Warren, the Turners allowed the investigation to run its course instead of fighting back.



“Pete is a huge advocate of doing what is right and we wanted to be respectful of the process itself,” Warren said. “We were able to speak with a number of the athletes who had indicated to us that the letter was a farce and that the accusers fabricated complaints.”



“Chase is a big supporter of women’s equality,” she continued. “He’s so passionate about the sport, so it was very trying on him. I don’t think people appreciate the kind of stress Title IX investigations put on people involved.”



Although Chase has been exonerated, members of both parties have until February 11 to appeal the decision, according to Warren.



The Spear reached out to SJSU’s Athletic Director Marie Tuite for comment, but she was not made available.

The Spear also reached out to Title IX investigators, who were unavailable to comment at the time of publication. One of the accusers declined to comment as well.



*A dozen members of the San Jose State softball program volunteered interviews for this article. While all of them may not have been attributed with direct quotes, the information they gave shaped the story.

*This story will continuously be updated as more information becomes available.

Written by: Sara Biela, Ernie Gonzalez, Taylor Lupetti, Marissa Scott and Austin Turner

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