Editor’s note: This article was written just before the Wednesday announcement that coach Gonzalez was placed on leave
The news media was supposed to be their Hail Mary — their last effort to create some change.
Idaho volleyball player Emma Patterson, who is one of the complainants in the investigation of Vandal volleyball coach Chris Gonzalez, said the Orange County Register article published on Dec. 30, 2023, came at the worst possible time. The article’s timing during the semester break and the holidays served to somewhat bury the story, she said.
The 9,000-word article detailed alleged physical, mental, verbal, and emotional abuse the Idaho volleyball players fell victim to during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Players reached out to the University of Idaho administration about Gonzalez during the 2022 season. However, no coaching changes were made, and the roster was wiped, according to Patterson.
Patterson transferred to UI for the fall 2023 semester. She previously attended the University of Alaska, Anchorage, playing volleyball for one of the nation’s top Division II programs. She had family ties pulling her to the Pacific Northwest, to Moscow. She wanted nothing more than to play at her dream school.
She saw that the UI team’s 2022 record was 4-24. She noticed that hardly any of the players from the 2022 roster were returning for the following season. She addressed these concerns with Gonzalez during her recruitment process. Patterson detailed this experience during her interview with the lawyers from Thompson & Horton, the third-party law firm conducting the investigation.
“Gonzalez said that the athletes were not committed, and the record was because he had not recruited the athletes last year. They were left from the prior coach’s program. The team Patterson would join would be his recruits, who would do better,” according to Patterson’s interview summary. “He said he anticipated she would be a team leader but would not see the court because he had already recruited several other athletes in her position. In the moment, nothing stood out to Patterson in Gonzalez’s responses. But looking back, some things he said were not entirely true.”
The Vandals went 1-27 in the 2023 season. The team currently has a 24-game losing streak in the Big Sky Conference. Patterson said this means the team lost to single opponents four times in a row over the course of the last two seasons.
“It’s almost impressive to lose to a team four times in a row,” Patterson said.
In an audio recording provided to the Argonaut of a team meeting after a game, Gonzalez refers to the decade-long losing culture within the Idaho volleyball program.
“It’s not about the game. We were so far from being a team. I don’t even know where to start. But here’s where I am going to start. This program started in 1974, and it has been crap for almost 50 years,” Gonzalez said in the recording. “Want to know how I know? They (Idaho) were in my conference when I was at Long Beach State. But here’s the difference, when we came in there and wacked them, we weren’t allowed to laugh at them or humiliate them or any of those things that people do to you…”
Gonzalez coached at Long Beach State University as an assistant from 1997-2001. He was on staff when the volleyball program had the first-ever undefeated season (36-0) that culminated in a NCAA national championship in 1998.
“50 years of losing. It’s not on you. Hell, it’s not even on me,” Gonzalez said in the recording. “But it’s on us to fix it. 50 years of losing. I can’t even fathom that. I would have changed professions a long, long, long time ago.”
In an email response to an Argonaut inquiry, Gonzalez declined to comment due to the ongoing investigation. In a follow-up email, he said the recording was edited and incomplete.
The investigation of Gonzalez and the climate and culture of the volleyball program started at the end of November, according to Patterson. Patterson received notice that the investigation had begun on Nov. 30, but she was not interviewed until Jan. 30.
She felt the two-month gap between the notice of investigation and the actual interviews left the players in the dark. Patterson said she received little-to-no information about the investigation or what the spring season would hold. With the news media spreading the story, her name in headlines, and the notice of investigation also being sent to Gonzalez, Patterson was apprehensive to return to practice.
The Office of Civil Rights and Investigations implemented a limited no-contact order between Gonzalez and the players in the Nov. 30 notice. Some of the requirements under this order included limiting communication to only official volleyball activities, any communication between Gonzalez and players needed to include a non-party, and players were allowed to opt out of non-physical volleyball activities.
But Patterson said this partial no-contact order did little to make her feel comfortable returning to Memorial Gym. Players contacted OCRI again in January, asking if they could opt out of practice. Players worked with the administration to come to an agreement that players could opt out without fear of retaliation by Gonzalez and the security of their scholarships.
Patterson said, however, that the only people on scholarship are the international players and two domestic players. The rest are not on scholarship. Patterson, who is not on scholarship, went to the first few practices in support of other players but then decided to opt-out.
She is concerned that Gonzalez has not been placed on leave, not only because he is allowed to conduct practices, but also because he is actively recruiting and signing new players. According to the Vandal volleyball Instagram, Madu Fontes, an outside hitter from Brazil, and Ada Isik, a libero from Turkey, have both signed for the fall 2024 season.
Patterson said that recruiting during the investigation brings up a few problems. Because current players do not know if Gonzalez will be cleared, they do not know if they will continue to play for Idaho, stay at UI but not play, enter the transfer portal, or decide to attend another university. Players do not know if Gonzalez will renew their scholarship yet, but he is actively signing new, international recruits.
“I’ll say this. He will not have too many players next season,” Patterson said.
Recruits are currently visiting UI on both official and unofficial visits. Patterson said the prospective recruits are only meeting with players who have chosen to not opt out of practice. Those who have opted out, including the complainants, have not been asked to meet with recruits.
She fears that the roster will be incomplete in the fall. Patterson is also concerned with Gonzalez’s focus on solely recruiting international players. She said international players require scholarships, so the more international players, the fewer funds exist for domestic players. Patterson pointed out again that only two current domestic players are on scholarship.
She also said that focusing on international recruitment is contrary to a statement in the UI coach’s handbook.
“In as much as the talent allows, our recruiting priorities should be as follows: a) Idaho, b) Northwest, and c) other areas,” the handbook says.
The report is currently being written up by the investigators, according to Jodi Walker, UI Executive Director of Communications. The report will be given to the complainants, Gonzalez and President Scott Green. In the end, it is UI’s decision whether to fire Gonzalez based on the findings in the investigation, not OCRI’s, Patterson said.
Because it is the university’s decision, Patterson said she has not gotten her hopes up.
“This feels like a not funny joke,” Patterson said. “They failed us. It feels like the university is fighting on his (Gonzalez) behalf.”
Patterson referred to the meetings players had with the university administration in 2022. She referred to meetings with Dean of Students Blaine Eckles, Athletic Director Terry Gawlik, Senior Associate Athletic Director Chris Walsh, and OCRI Director Jackie Wernz.
Patterson felt like she had gone to every resource possible before going to the media.
“The media was our nuclear option,” Patterson said.
Even with media reports on the alleged abusive culture and the current investigation, Patterson is nervous Gonzalez will not be fired, that nothing will change.
“For two years, they (UI) have seen the bad record, a huge exodus of players and players have come forward about the situation,” Patterson said. “In my head, that’s a huge red flag.”
She said the situation of letting Gonzalez recruit and not placing him on leave does not give her confidence that the report will change their decision.
“It’s up to the same people,” Patterson said. “They are just getting another chance to make the same decision.”
Joanna Hayes can be reached at [email protected]