The University of Idaho Volleyball team couldn’t believe their fate in their last home game of the 2023-24 season. They had to topple a less-experienced Northern Arizona to finish the season pleasantly. Even before that evening of November, the Lumberjacks couldn’t hold their mojo tight as they were winless on the Big Sky road. For the Vandals, the occasion set up beautifully as chief coach Chris Gonzalez was all praise on recruiting Renata Lopez Morales as the OH/MB held lots of experience on the Big Sky Road. However, everything turned blue after the game.
The Vandals didn’t win the game, and a difficult situation began to emerge. The latest fiasco regarding coach Gonzalez wooed the situation unfathomably.
University of Idaho coach Chris Gonzalez faced severe allegations
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Scott M. Reid, for the Dallas Times Herald, opened the tin of worms that could only collapse the volleyball fraternity in a blink of time. His X-post read, “BREAKING NEWS:‘These are cries for help;’ Players allege Idaho women’s volleyball coach Chris Gonzalez regularly bullied them” by tagging all the bigwigs in the USA volleyball community. As The Orange County Register reported, Chris Gonzalez inflicted questionable attitudes toward the players and other stakeholders of the University of Idaho Volleyball. Moreover, the issue continued since his entry into the chief coach role, in 2022. Attesting to that, Marissa Drange, OH, on the 2022 Vandals team, said, “This is a pattern that isn’t something new,”.
BREAKING NEWS:‘These are cries for help;’ Players allege Idaho women’s volleyball coach Chris Gonzalez regularly bullied them @uidaho @UIdahoAlumni @Idaho_Vandals @IdahoVolleyball @usavolleyball @NCAAVolleyball @BigSkyConf @BigSkyVB @volleyballworld https://t.co/T9AKsKk8BY
— Scott M. Reid (@sreidreporter) December 30, 2023
The 2022 incident said, Gonzalez physically handled players on the Vandals’ team. Taking the situation to a more lowly, the allegation of bullying also sneaked in. “…he literally told her to move and then pushed her and she fell to the floor”, Travel Morris spilled from her experience. But that was quite unexpected from a personality like Chris Gonzalez, whose resume showcased more than 20 years of experience in coaching. His national duty consumed some of those years as the volleyball coach. But invariably, as Southern California News Group outlined, six teammates from the 2023 Vandals’ roster and three previous players with an employee of the University of Idaho complained about Gonzalez’s abomination till now. But the vituperative turned a blind eye.
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The evaporation of officials
The University of Idaho athletic chief, Terry Gawlik, remained numb to the situation, as alleged by the fumed players. Even he couldn’t react to the complaints filed by the university employees who couldn’t save themselves from Gonzalez’s claw. With time, the complaints started to increase, both in written and verbal form. But as Travel Morris added, “Terry, she doesn’t care,”.
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When SCNG reached out to her to get a rejoinder on the muddy affair, she conceded, “As a general practice, the U of I takes every allegation seriously, investigates them, and responds as soon as possible,”. Now on the brink of the situation, everything seems gloomy to the University of Idaho volleyball mates.
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