Players have accused University of Idaho volleyball coach Chris Gonzalez of abusing, intimidating and harassing them, according to an article in the Orange County Register.
In an article published Saturday, players told the register that the first incident involving Gonzalez took place during a practice in the spring of 2022 when he physically shoved a player, knocking her to the ground.
“He physically pushed a player,” Travel Morris, an Idaho middle blocker who participated in the drill, told the Register. “Like physically in a very, bullying way, he literally told her to move and then pushed her and she fell to the floor. He said, ‘Move!’ and just pushed her, like completely just pushed her over,” Morris said. “He pushed her quite aggressively.
“Everybody looked confused. As soon as it happened everybody on the court looked at each other like, ‘Did he really just do that?’ We all just froze.”
Gonzalez, a former U.S. national team coach, had been hired weeks prior to that incident to coach Idaho Vandals volleyball.
In interviews, letters, emails, formal complaints, confidential university documents and voice recordings, the players allege that Gonzalez, a longtime fixture on the Southern California volleyball scene and once considered one of the college game’s rising coaching stars, has created an abusive environment.
According to the Register's report, six Idaho players on the 2023 roster, three former players and a university employee allege that Gonzalez physically abused and bullied players, pressured injured players to play and train against the orders of the school’s sports medicine staff, regularly deprived players of food on road trips, body shamed players, made racially insensitive and inappropriate comments and pressured sports medicine staff to share confidential information about players’ weight.
“Through many abusive behaviors, Coach Gonzales and his staff perpetuate a culture of harassment, bullying, and belittling,” a current Idaho starter wrote on behalf of her teammates in a formal complaint to the university obtained by SCNG, as reported by the Register.
Multiple documents reportedly show that players, their parents, and at least three university employees have repeatedly complained about Gonazelez’s coaching methods and alleged abusive behavior to Gawlik, university administration officials and the school’s Office of Civil Rights and Investigations. The Register reported that at least 13 players have complained to Gawlik or other university officials, according to player interviews, formal complaints and confidential university documents.
The alleged pattern of abuse by Gonzalez as a coach reportedly has taken place at other universities extending back more than 20 years covering the majority if not the entirety of his college coaching career, the Register reported.
“Complaints levied against Christopher Gonzalez should not be dismissed as pouting or tempestuous outbursts thrown by teenagers and young adults, or overbearing, dissatisfied parents,” Chelsey R. Mason, who played for Gonzalez at Iowa, where she was a Big Ten All-Academic selection, wrote in a November 30, 2022 letter to Gawlik. “These are evidence of unprofessional, abusive, manipulative practices that have spanned Gonzalez’s career. These are illustrations of Christopher Gonzalez’s character. These are cries for help.”
The Southern California News Group asked Gawlik for a response to the allegations against Gonzalez and statements by Idaho players that she and other university officials have been dismissive of the players’ complaints and concerns and have not take effective action against the coach.
“As a general practice, the U of I takes every allegation seriously, investigates them, and responds as soon as possible,” Gawlik wrote in an email to SCNG. She had no further response.
Eight players came to the university, listing more than 80 examples of Gonzalez’s abusive behavior, according to the article. Among the complaints were reports that players weren’t able to eat after losses or on cross-country flights.
Players also told the newspaper that they had met with a case manager met in early November to report and address issues with Gonzalez. The players said the case manager told them she would follow up in the coming weeks, but the athletes never heard from her again.
“She failed to get back to us,” a starter said, as reported by the Register. “It was a dead end. She talked to us and then we never heard from anybody.”
The players also said neither Blaine Eckles, the university’s dean of students, Gawlick nor Chris Walsh, the senior associate athletic director for internal administration and wellness followed up with them after the meeting.
Idaho finished 1-27 overall in 2023, its worst record in program history.
