'I'm really, really afraid' | University of Idaho volleyball player details alleged abuse from head coach
More than a dozen University of Idaho volleyball players are urging school officials to take action on what they describe as abusive actions from their head coach.
When a fourth-generation Idaho Vandal joined the University of Idaho volleyball team, she was ecstatic about the chance to play the sport she loves at a school so near to her family’s heart.
Emma Patterson, a junior, transferred to the University of Idaho in 2023. She spent the three years before playing at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, but said she knew someday she would come to Idaho.
"My mother and father, grandma and grandpa, great grandmother and great grandfather all came through the university,” Patterson said. “When I was looking to transfer after being at Alaska, the University of Idaho was at the top of my list.”
In the year she’s been in Idaho, she said she’s loved nearly every aspect of the school.
What Patterson didn’t know is that she would soon be speaking out against alleged abuse at the hands of head coach Chris Gonzalez.
“He physically pushed a girl to the ground, during practice, when he jumped into the drill,” she said. “He called the girls linebackers implying that they need to lose weight. Last year, there was an African American girl on the team. And he made kind of racial comments about that.”
She told KREM 2 the abuse happened almost daily and sometimes targeted certain players more than others.
Patterson is just one of at least 13 University of Idaho volleyball players who claim they suffered mental, verbal and physical abuse by Gonzalez, dating back to 2022. Last October, a formal complaint was filed against Gonzalez with the University’s Office of Civil Rights and Investigations (OCRI). It lists alleged offenses including "body shaming," "ignoring medical advice and putting players at greater risk of injury," "withholding food," and "creating a culture of fear, humiliation, embarrassment and intimidation."
Patterson also said, at one point, an assistant volleyball coach drove several players in a team van at almost 100 miles an hour. She shared a video with KREM 2 of the speedometer hovering at 96 miles per hour. When questioned about it later, Patterson said the head coach dismissed their concerns and told the University’s Athletic Director that the players were lying.
According to Patterson, the situation was so bad, the players asked that the investigation be delayed until the end of the season.
“We were informed that our names would be released to the coaches as soon as the investigation started," she explained. "And we were so worried about retaliation and our safety that we didn't want him to still be responsible for our care and know who we are.”
Who is Chris Gonzalez?
Andre Christopher “Chris” Gonzalez became the University of Idaho’s seventh volleyball coach in 2022. Prior to that, he spent nearly 20 years coaching teams both nationally and internationally.
According to his biography on the university's website, he served as an assistant and head coach with the USA women’s national team, Netherlands national team and Czech Republic junior national teams. He served as the setting coach and offensive coordinator for the Denso Corporation in Japan from 2019-2022. In the United States, Gonzalez spent five seasons at Long Beach State University.
“Coach Gonzalez sounded like a really knowledgeable, good coach, and on paper, if you look at his past coaching jobs, it looks really good,” Patterson said. “He’s coached for some really successful schools and professional teams overseas.”
Patterson said she had no knowledge of Gonzalez’s alleged conduct prior to coming to Idaho. She said Gonzalez seemed excited to have her on the team and was putting in a lot of effort to get her to Idaho from Alaska.
After she arrived, however, is when she said she felt something was different.
“College athletics is supposed to be physically difficult [and] incredibly mentally challenging. But along with those things comes a lot of positives,” she said. “But when our coach started talking about how other teams were making fun of us, about how we should be embarrassed to be here, that our program is nothing to be proud of. When he started talking about being able to say and do anything he wants to international girls on the team because they can’t leave. That’s when it really started to become like, this isn’t okay.”
Allegations Come to Light
Patterson didn’t join the team until 2023, but she said even last year’s team spoke with the athletics department about Gonzalez’s alleged conduct.
“What I heard about least season was just kind of stunning, not in a good way,” she said.
Patterson said some of last year’s players met with Terry Gawlick, the athletics director, in 2022 to share their concerns about Gonzalez’s actions. According to her, nothing was ever done.
KREM 2 filed a public records request with the university to receive notes from that meeting as well as any complaints filed by players against Gonzalez during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The university denied the request, citing it as a personnel and student record.
“Hearing about all of that and then combining that with my personal experiences this year really set off the sirens of, this needs to change and needs to be reported,” she said. “If the school is not going to do anything, if the athletic director continues to have our complaints fall on deaf ears, we need to ask the public for help.”
Patterson took matters into her own hands, sitting down with 13 current players and filing a formal complaint against Gonzalez with the university.
University of Idaho's Response
Following the complaint from Patterson and her teammates, the University of Idaho launched an investigation into the "climate and culture" of the team, according to Executive Director of Communications Jodi Walker.
Walker says the official investigation began in December but did not give an estimate for when the investigation could be complete.
“Anytime there's a concern brought to the university, that's taken very seriously,” Walker said. “Right now, the outside investigators are looking into the allegations within the volleyball department. They have been asked to work expediently and bring us back a full report.”
Patterson received a notice from the OCRI, acknowledging her official complaint, saying, "If substantiated, the conduct could violate certain policies."
A limited no-contact order was issued for everyone involved in the complaint, restricting communications only to those "necessary for official team activities."
What Happens Next?
Even with the investigation into Gonzalez underway, Emma told KREM 2 she plans to continue playing volleyball at the University of Idaho. But she worries about what the next season of volleyball will bring if Gonzalez remains in place as the head coach.
"If we all leave, who's there to make sure it doesn't keep happening?" Emma said. " I don't know why the school and the athletics department are choosing, or at least what it feels like is, they're choosing an abusive coach over 13 girls."
When KREM 2 reached out to Gonzalez, he declined to comment until the investigation was complete. He said he has and will continue to cooperate fully in all aspects of the investigation.
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